Vicissitude
by DarkUnderworld
Summary: *Seqel to Rogue* Vicissitude: a favourable or unfavourable event or situation that occurs by chance; a fluctuation of state or condition. A Collaboration with Amonraphoenix
1. Chapter 1

**Alrighty all, the sequel to _Rogue_**

**I hope you all enjoy this story as much as the first one!**

**A/N: Still don't own the turtles...**

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><p><strong>Vicissitude: a favourable or unfavourable event or situation that occurs by chance; a fluctuation of state or condition.<strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

**Raphael's** mind screamed at him to run and hide, but there was nowhere _to_ run and hide. The foyer was blocked by too many bodies in a confined space. And it was too late, the woman was already intently studying them.

"Mom?" Katherine asked in confusion. "What are you doing here?" She asked as she waded past him, his brothers, April and Casey.

Katherine's mother turned her attention from them to Katherine. "Sweetheart, am I currently seeing four giant, human-like turtles standing in the foyer?" Her mother asked in an even voice.

"Yes mom." She answered truthfully.

"Alright, just checking." She said with a nod. She smiled at her daughter. "I told you, I was filming a TV show. We're on break right now and it just so happens that it is filming in New York city. I decided to come out and surprise you and maybe meet your beaus, and spend Thanksgiving with you. Now, let me look at you." Her mother said giving her a cursory once-over. "I was so worried about you being here alone. I was so glad to hear about you living with your...men." She sighed. "Only you Katherine could manage to find, and fall in love with men who aren't even human. I knew I shouldn't have let your uncle drag you all over the world. No offence." Katherine's mom said as she assessed him and his brother's again.

Raphael swallowed and took a step back.

"So are you going to introduce me?" She questioned as she let Katherine go and removed her oversized black shades.

Katherine blushed. "Um, right, sorry, manners. Mom, this is April and Casey Jones and their daughter Shadow." Katherine said indicating April and Casey who were standing closest to Katherine and her mother. "This is Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and Leonardo." She said indicating each of them in turn. "Everyone, this is my mother, Amelia Wraith." She said gesturing to her mother with her hand.

Her mother held out her hand which Leonardo tentatively took. She briefly curtsied. "It is a pleasure to meet you." Her mother said politely. "It is nice to finally match a face to the name and voice." She said as she let go of Leonardo's hand. "I suppose you are set up in the master bedroom, so I suppose I shall get all of my things and put them in the spare one."

"You're staying here?" She asked surprised.

Her mother laughed. "Of course dear. Though I suppose it will get a little crowded in here, but I am sure we will make things work. Now, if you could get your...men, to grab my bags, it would be greatly appreciated. I need to freshen up a bit before dinner." SHe said with a smile.

Raphael's mouth hung open in shock.

Katherine's mother rolled her eyes. "Oh please, I worked in Hollywood, you are not the strangest thing I have ever seen." She said patting Michelangelo on the cheek as she started up the stairs.

"A Humvee? Where did you get that?" Katherine asked as she looked out the door.

Katherine's mom paused on the stairs and smiled. She put her finger to her lips and winked. "I would have borrowed a tank if I could." She said as she continued up the stairs.

"My mother still has issues with vehicles." Katherine grumbled shaking her head. "I thought I was safe from her deciding to pop by." She said with a sigh. "Come on April, Shadow must be hungry and I definitely smell something coming from that carrier that is not baby fresh." She said as she and April walked down the hallway to the kitchen.

"Raph, you are one lucky son of a bitch." Casey said with a shake of his head.

Raphael looked at Casey in confusion.

"They always say that if you want to know what your wife will look like in 20 years, look at your mother-in-law. Your girlfriend's mother is freaking Amelia Wraith! I had a picture of her on my wall when I was a teenager. Hey, you think she'll give me an autograph? How do I look?" He asked as he straightened out his hair. "I always wondered why Katharine always looked so familiar." Casey said as he followed April and Katherine into the kitchen.

"Well, that went well." Michelangelo said looking up the stairs.

"Your girlfriend Raph?" Leonardo asked raising a brow ridge and folding his arms across his chest.

"I am _not_ telling Case and April that we are sharing Katherine." Raphael hissed.

"I think that cat is out of the bag Raph." Michelangelo said with a shake of his head.

"This is Casey we're talking about." Raphael pointed out.

"Except Katherine just broke up with us, remember?" Leonardo said with a shake of his head. "Besides, I thought you were leaving?" Leonardo asked.

Raphael frowned, having forgotten everything that had just happened. "I can't leave her Leo. There is something still wrong with her." He said fiercely.

Leonardo shook his head and sighed as he headed outside.

"Wait, what do you mean Kitten just broke up with you?" Michelangelo asked following Leonardo and himself out of the house and into the cool, dark night.

"I don't want to talk about it Mikey." Raphael said angrily.

"Which means you screwed up Raph." Michelangelo pointed out. "So why'd she break up with you Leo?"

Leonardo shrugged as he opened the back of the Humvee.

Raphael looked at the mound of luggage. "Great. Do we have to drag all this in?" He grumbled.

Leonardo looked at the bags. "I guess we'll just haul them in and Katherine's mom will let us know." He said.

Raphael looked at the pile of bags. "This is too messed up." He said shaking his head. "We are not supposed to be meeting Katherine's mom and actin' like this is all normal." He said in frustration.

"Let's just concentrate on surviving dinner, and then getting Katherine to take us back. Again." Leonardo said as he grabbed a bag in each hand. He winced in pain and just took out one bag.

Raphael looked at his brother in worry. He hadn't wanted to push his brother and Leonardo hadn't said anything, but the damage to his left shoulder and arm had not yet fully healed. Leonardo still trained, but sometimes he would notice that his brother's movements were no longer as sure, as powerful, or as fast as they used to be. He had seen Leonardo pick Katherine up on a few occasions, but he supposed his brother was compensating with his other arm.

"You know that neither of you actually deserve her, right?" Michelangelo asked as he grabbed a few bags and grimaced at the weight.

"Shut up Mikey." Raphael growled as he grabbed two bags. "What the hell has she got in here, rocks?" He asked as he hefted the bags.

Raphael gripped the two bags in his hands more firmly as he stalked angrily into the house and up the stairs, Leonardo and Michelangelo following on his heels.

He walked into the room and saw Katherine's mother standing in front of a full length mirror. "Leonardo and Raphael, stay a moment. Michelangelo I just need the blue case that is left in the Humvee. If you could bring it up for me and leave it outside the door I would greatly appreciate it."

Michelangelo looked at her in surprise, but nodded as he turned to leave the room. "Oh, and close the door behind you." She said as Michelangelo closed the door gently behind him, his face filled with suppressed laughter.

Raphael glared at the door, finally turning his attention to Katherine's mother. She turned from the mirror and studied both himself and Leonardo.

He got tired of the inspection and crossed his arms over his chest. "You done or do you want to check my teeth too?" He asked in irritation.

Leonardo elbowed him in the side and gave him a look.

Katherine's mom smirked. She pulled off her hat and held it in her hands."I will assume there is a winning personality somewhere under all of that anger and sarcasim." She said as she rolled the brim of her hat in her fingers. "So what exactly are you?" She questioned. "Aliens, inter-dimensional beings?"

"Mutant turtles." Raphael said in irritation.

Katherine's mother mulled this over and shrugged. "Not the worst plotline I've ever heard." She said as she stopped rolling the brim of her hat. "What I would really like to know however, is what happened to my daughter?" She asked, voice filled with barely controlled anger.

He exchanged a shocked look with Leonardo.

She continued as she looked at him. "You seem overly angry, but I seem to recall it was Leonardo who told me that he hadn't been treating my daughter right. So was it you who did that to her? Are you the one who has put the haunted, hunted look in my daughter's eyes and the scar across her cheek?" She asked.

Leonardo looked at Katherine's mom, his face full of guilt. "I would never hurt your daughter, physically or mentally." He said to her.

"Kitten didn't get that from us." Raphael said softly, his anger replaced with remorse.

"I will assume then, that this is somehow connected to why my uncle's house has been re-painted and repaired?" She asked evenly.

He and Leonardo shared another look as guilt flowed hot and sticky through him.

"Katherine was...It was our fault that she was dragged into something that had nothing to do with her." Leonardo replied softly.

"And my daughter was hurt?" She asked.

Raphael closed his eyes in shame and gave a curt nod.

Katherine's mother narrowed her eyes as she studied them. "Is she still in danger from whatever it is that you dragged her into?"

"No." Leonardo replied.

"Are you two going to protect my daughter in case you are wrong?" She asked them.

Raphael snorted. Katherine's mom looked at him in surprise. "Kitten doesn't need anyone to protect her. She can protect herself. Hell, she's the one who managed to save our asses."

Katherine's mom smiled slightly then. "Yes. I can believe that of her." She lost her smile and looked at them seriously. "But I will ask it of you anyway."

"We will protect her." Leonardo said with a nod.

"Good." She said as she put her hat on the bed. "I have never known Katherine to be indecisive. I wonder why she can't seem to choose between you? After all, it does not look like you two are happy sharing her." Her mother observed.

Raphael ground his teeth but remained silent.

Katherine's mom laughed. "Oh my, I really do wish I was not leaving so soon. I think it would be interesting to watch and see how this all plays out." She waved them off then. "I need to freshen up. Out you two go."

They turned to leave, but Leonardo paused as he assessed Katherine's mother. "You really don't have a problem with us being with her?" He asked.

Katherine's mother gave a half smile. "I haven't decided yet." She said truthfully.

Leonardo gave her a grim look.

She smiled a full smile then as a devil of mischief entered her eyes. "Though, I can see the appeal. After all, what is a human man when you can have two in-human lovers? I wonder if Katherine can't choose because she enjoys you two in bed too much. You both must be wonderful lovers. I am now curious as to what is beneath your pants."

Raphael felt his cheeks bloom red. "We...I..." He stammered in embarrassment.

"Out you go." Katherine's mom said shooing them out and closing the door behind them.

"I'm startin' to think that Katherine's mom does that on purpose." He grumbled as he walked down the hallway.

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><p><strong>Raphael<strong> watched as Katherine took Shadow from April.

"She always wants to eat when we do." April said with a shake of her head. Katherine smiled. "It's okay April. I've got her. You actually enjoy a meal for once." Katherine said as she took the bottle and receiving blanket from April's hand and shoulder. She began feeding the baby as everyone began their meal. He and Leonardo hadn't been able to have a quiet word with Katherine yet, and he couldn't tell if she was still angry. She didn't seem to be, but with Katherine it was so hard to tell.

Dinner wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. Katherine's mother was polite and humorous, and the food was excellent. Dessert was homemade pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Raphael was so full he couldn't eat another bite.

They all stood, the men all heading towards the living room. "Boys, I think you are forgetting something." Katherine's mother said with a smile. "Katherine cooked, you boys get to do the dishes, we women are going to the living room." Her mother said as Katherine and April laughed handing them dish rags and towels.

"Hey, me and Donny helped!" Michelangelo protested.

"I mashed potatoes." Raphael pointed out.

Katherine's mother raised an eyebrow.

"Yes ma'am." Michelangelo said as he grabbed a tea towel. "I'll dry." He said with a smile.

"I'll dry." Casey said reaching for the other towel.

"I'll wash." Donatello said with a shrug.

Leonardo smiled and shook his head. "I guess I'll clean up the table." He picked up Katherine's plate. It was still clean, she hadn't eaten anything.

He frowned as he exchanged a worried look with Leonardo.

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><p><strong>Katherine<strong> looked at her mother. April had gone upstairs to change Shadow's diaper and change her into a sleeper. "You know Katherine, if you wanted to shock me, or rebel, I could think of many other more mundane things to do than go off and get into a relationship with not one, but two inhuman men." She said with disapproval.

Katherine sighed. She was exhausted. _Who knew planning and cooking a Thanksgiving dinner could be so exhausting?_ She had been too tired to even eat. Though if she was honest with herself, the smell of the food had made her stomach roll. Which meant she was coming down with the flu. And her mom was here, which was by far worse.

"I know mom." She agreed.

"Have I been ignoring you? Are you trying to outdo my youthful follies, which I will admit were many and quite scandalous for the time? Or are you still upset that I abandoned you after your father died?" She asked.

Katherine sighed. "Of course mom." She said in a monotone voice.

"Now you are just mocking me." She said with an angry huff.

"Besides not being human, do you have any other objections to any of them?" She questioned.

Her mother frowned. "Yes." She said to her. "They dragged you into something that managed to get you hurt." She said seriously.

She shrugged.

Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Talking to you is like talking to a brick wall." Her mother grumbled. "Fine if you are not going to talk, you will have to listen." Her mother straightened. "I know the appeal of having a man, or possibly several men, who are dangerous or exude an air of mystery and danger. But they will only ever drag you into trouble. Which they have already admitted they have done."

"Yes mom, you are right." She said with a nod.

Katherine's mother glared at her. "I hate it when you agree with me." She grumbled.

"I know." Katherine said to her mother.

"You get your stubbornness from your father you know."

Katherine laughed. "I got your stubborn streak as well mom, don't put this all on dad." She said with a smile.

Her mother sighed dramatically again. "Point." She conceded. "But look at your lovely face." Her mother said as she reached over and traced the two inch scar across her cheek. It was still an angry red. But she figured that one day it would fade.

"You don't like? I think it gives me a very piratical appearance. Pirates are very big right now, not quite as big as vampires though." She pointed out.

"I know a perfectly lovely cosmetic surgeon, I'll give you his number. He should be able to do something with it." Her mother said ignoring her quip.

"That's okay mom, I'm good. It'll fade." She said with a shrug.

"Why both?" Her mother asked switching topics abruptly. Her mother tended to use these tactics when she was tired of not getting her way, or if she wished to throw whoever she was talking to off guard, which usually resulted in a confused but often truthful answer to whatever probing question she was asking.

Of course Katherine knew her mother too well, and she also tended to use the same tactics at times, though not as purposefully as her mother did.

"Why are you here mom?" She questioned, avoiding the question altogether.

"You are avoiding the question Katherine." Her mother said softly.

Katherine smiled. "So are you."

Katherine heard her mother sigh. "I was worried." She said to her seriously.

Katherine nodded. "You don't have to worry about me mom." She said as she gave her mother a hug. "But things are...complicated right now." She said truthfully.

"I knew you were determined to avoid a society wedding dear, but you did not have to go to such extremes you know." Her mother chastised her. Katherine grinned at her mother who smiled at her. "If they make you happy dear."

"Happy?" She questioned as she thought it over. "I think I have never felt so angry, frustrated, sad, miserable, irritated, and annoyed in my life." She said with a shake of her head.

Her mother threw back her head and laughed. "You've never felt this alive." She pointed out. "I felt the same way with your father." She said with a sad smile. "He made me see the world differently. He was truly my better half. When I was with him, I was better, because of him. He was the love of my life." Her mother gave a slight sniff and put on a brave face.

"You still love him?" Katherine questioned.

"Always." Her mother said with a nod. "But it doesn't mean I love your stepfather any less." She hastened to add.

Katherine smiled. "I know." She said, because she did.

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><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> watched as Katherine held a very sleepy Shadow in her arms. All of the women were huddled around and talking comfortably.

"So how's fatherhood Case?" Raphael asked as he slapped their friend on his back.

"So far, tiring." He said with a smile. "But you what Raph, she's amazin'." He said with pride. "You never really know, you know? I was scared when April told me she was pregnant. I thought I would be a terrible father. But now that she's here, I can't imagine my life without her." He said with a beaming smile.

"I'm happy for you Case." Raphael said with a smile.

"You think Katherine wants kids?" Casey questioned. Leonardo looked at Katherine and felt something pull within himself.

"We can't have children Casey." Leonardo said softly.

Casey frowned and blinked in confusion.

"We ain't human, remember?" Raphael said with a shake of his head.

Casey frowned harder. "Raph, you better find out if Katherine wants kids. Cause if you can't give her any, then she may leave you. Woman are funny about that sorta thing. Doesn't matter how much they love you, they hear that clock tickin' and they find someone who can make that sort of thing happen."

Leonardo gave Raphael a glance and looked at Casey. "Katherine knows that if she is with...Raph, that she won't have any kids or be able to get married. She 's already thought about and accepted all of the ramifications of being with...Raph." Leonardo said, allowing his brother to keep up the impression that Katherine was still only dating Raphael, even though Katherine had broke up with _both_ of them earlier this evening.

Raphael frowned. "See, Kitten's smart. Besides, she's only 21 Case."

"Which means plenty of time to change her mind." Casey pointed out.

Leonardo's gaze strayed back to Katherine. She was passing Shadow back to April who stood. April looked at him and Raphael. "I don't think either of you have held Shadow yet." April said as she smiled at Shadow. "I think you want to meet your Uncle Leo and Uncle Raph." She said as she handed Shadow to him. He looked at the tiny wrapped bundle. He held her and didn't move in case he broke her. Shadow's sleepy green eyes looked at him, her mop of dark hair standing up at odd angles.

He had never held a baby before and he didn't even know if he was doing it right. "Just be careful of the her neck." April said as he looked at her desperately. "But she's pretty secure in the blanket so you don't have to worry about her too much. You aren't going to break her you know." She said with a soft smile.

"But she's so tiny." He said to her.

April laughed. "She was big enough, believe me. She's a healthy eight pounds, aren't you?" She said as he gratefully handed her back.

"Oh no you don't." April admonished Raphael. "You are her uncle, and you are holding her Raph." Aprilsaid as she put a recieving blanket on Raphael's shoulder. "Here." She said as she gently put Shadow on the recieving blanket the was over Raphael's shoulder."Now pat her on the back. Burping is good." April said as Raphael looked horribly uncomfortable. He patted her lightly on the back. Shadow let out a huge burp and April smiled. "There you go. Now you can go to bed." April took Shadow back from Raphael and began patting her on the butt. She let out another burp. "Good girl." April said as she looked at her daughter. "Say goodnight to daddy." Casey gazed at his daughter, a tender look on his face as he gave his daughter a light kiss on the top of her head. "Let's get you to bed. Goodnight everyone."

Leonardo had a momenttary flash of jealousy as he watched Casey and April with their daughter, because he knew he would never have children of his own. His eyes moved ot Katherine. But he had Katherine, and that was enough. He just hoped that she took him back.

Katherine's mother stood and wished the happy couple goodnight.

Casey and April said goodnight to Katherine and thanked her for dinner before leaving the livingroom to head upstairs to the other spare bedroom.

"I'm off to bed too." Katherine said standing. "Are you going to be here for breakfast?" Katherine asked her mother as she gave her a hug.

"I'm staying for the weekend dear, so yes, I will be here for breakfast." She stood. "I am exhausted. I am off to bed as well. Goodnight Katherine, I will see you all in the morning."

Katherine paused for a moment and nodded. "Alright, goodnight." She said as she watched her mother walk out of the room.

"Katherine." Raphael began.

"I am too tired Raphael, okay? I don't want to talk right now, I just want to go to sleep."

"Okay Kitten." Raphael said as he walked towards her.

"No." Katherine said shaking her head as Raphael stopped in confusion. "What part of 'I don't need either of you', do you not understand?" She said, her voice as cold as the arctic.

"Katherine," Leonardo said at the same time he said "Kitten."

"I am not a broken bird Raphael. You want to leave, the door is right there." She said pointing to the door. "Michelangelo and Donatello, there is a serious shortage of sleeping space, you two can sleep with me, Raphael and Leonardo, you two can fight over who gets the couch, and who gets the floor." She said as she walked out of the room.

"Wow Raph. What did you do?" Michelangelo asked as he watched Katherine's retreating back. He glared at his baby brother who grinned at him. "G'night." He said as he turned to leave the living room.

"Don't you dare Mikey." Raphael threatened.

Michelangelo turned but kept walking backwards. He gave a shrug and a grin. "Kitten is pissed at you and Leo, and there is nowhere else to sleep."

"Sleep on the floor." He growled.

Donatello walked past Leonardo and headed for the door. "Donny," Leonardo warned.

Donatello turned and looked at him. "If she doesn't want to be around you two right now, she should at least still be with someone, in case she has a nightmare. Also she is looking a little pale and she did not eat dinner. I'd like to see if there is anything I can do to help." He said as he left the room.

Raphael clenched his teeth and fists together in anger.

"Calm down Raph." Leonardo said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Mikey and Donny aren't going to do anything, besides, I think Katherine needs to do this."

"Break up with us and make us jealous with our own brothers?" He asked incredulous. "I've already got all the jealousy issues I can handle with just you at the moment Leo." Raphael growled.

Leonardo frowned at Raphael. "She needs to see if she can sleep without us Raph. You were the one who pushed her, so now she is seeing if she can do it on her own."

"She's sleepin' with Mikey and Donny, that ain't alone."

"No, but it was her love for _us_ that made her strong enough to live through what Hun put her through." Leonardo swallowed down the bile that rose in his throat. "Donny and Mikey will be there because Katherine has issues with being alone. If she can sleep the night without us, then she will probably try sleeping the night alone and see if she can." He finished softly.

Raphael growled low in his throat. "I call couch." He said as he walked over to the couch and pulled off a pillow and threw it at him.

Leonardo gave a half smile as he pulled a blanket from the chair. He turned out the lamp nearest him.

Raphael turned off the lamp at the table closest to his head. "What happens if she doesn't need us anymore Leo?" Raphael's disembodied voice asked from the couch.

"I don't know Raph." He replied softly as he closed his eyes.

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><p><strong>So thoughts? opinions? What does everyone think so far?<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait, but chapter 2 is up!**

**A big giant thank you to moonie016, Rocky181, chibiwolf22 and Kaaayyytteee for your reviews and support!**

**This chapter will focus a little more on Katheirne and her mother...**

**Please enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

**Donatello **entered Katherine's room. She had already changed into her PJ's and was laying in the middle of her bed with Michelangelo beside her. They were both talking softly.

He walked over to the bed and gently placed his hand on her forehead. It was cool under his hand.

"I'm okay Donatello, just coming down with a little bit of the flu. 'Tis the season after all." Katherine said with a weak smile. "I just want to go to sleep."

Donatello nodded. "Okay Kitten." He said softly.

Donatello went to the bathroom to change and came back out. He knew he should probably go and sleep on the couch. After all, she was his brother's girlfriend, even if she had just broken up with them, but he found himself sliding in beside her, Michelangelo already occupying the spot on the other side of her.

He could feel her warmth radiating off her body.

"Are you going to take them back Kitten?" Michelangelo asked softly.

Michelangelo was laying on his back with Katherine curled into his side, her head on his shoulder.

Donatello rolled onto his side and put his arm around her waist.

"I don't know Michelangelo." She whispered softly.

"Don't you love them anymore?" Michelangelo asked quietly.

"That's the problem Michelangelo. I do love them, but I love them both. I can't seem to separate the two. But it isn't fair to them to make them share." She said softly. "They are miserable and I can't keep doing that to them."

"No Kitten, Raph is miserable, Leo doesn't seem to mind sharing." Michelangelo pointed out.

"I know, but he would be happier if I choose just him. And if I did that..." She paused and didn't continue.

"You'd lose Raph." Donatello said softly. "Forever." He said finally figuring out what her mind had hit upon.

Michelangelo flicked a glance at him and frowned. "If you choose Raph, Leo will stay and be miserable. You let him go, and he'll disappear, and we'll never see him again. You choose Leo, Raph will leave and probably do something stupid, which could get him hurt, or even killed." Michelangelo said softly.

"I can't destroy your family." Katherine whispered softly. "I won't do it, no matter how much I love them."

Donatello digested this in silence, as did Michelangelo.

Michelangelo finally spoke. "Who do you love more Katherine?" Katherine did not answer. "It's okay to choose you know." He prompted softly.

Katherine remained silent.

"She's asleep." Donatello said softly. "She's really was exhausted." Donatello said as he touched her forehead again. It was still cool to the touch, but she looked pale. "Her mind still needs to heal Mikey." Donatello put in softly. "Her love for Raph and Leo is so intertwined with the trauma that she suffered at the hands of Hun, that she may never be able to separate her love for Leo and her love for Raph."

"Then those two need to grow up." Michelangelo growled angrily.

"You can't blame them for not wanting to share Mikey." Donatello put in softly as he pulled Katherine in closer to his body.

Michelangelo blew out a puff of air. "I know." He grumbled. He was silent a few moments before continuing. "You think she's going to have a nightmare tonight?" He asked softly.

"I don't know Mikey." He said as he closed his eyes and buried his nose into Katherine's hair and neck. "Just...we have to make sure." He whispered softly.

"Make sure what?" Michelangelo mumbled.

Donatello breathed in Katherine's light flowery scent, his mind half asleep. "That we don't fall in love with her." He said as he fell asleep.

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><p><strong>Michelangelo<strong> looked at his sleeping brother and then down at the woman wrapped in his arms. He lightly kissed the top of Katherine's head, his hand drifting down to brush her soft, velvet cheek. "Too late Donny." He whispered as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

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><p><strong>Raphael<strong> stealthily began making his way up the stairs. He couldn't sleep, all he could think about was his two brothers. Upstairs. In bed. With the woman he loved.

He repeated to himself that he trusted his brothers, and he did. He was just making sure that they didn't get any ideas just because Katherine still couldn't bear the thought of sleeping alone.

"What are doing Raphael?" His brother hissed at him as he got to the landing.

He grimaced. He had thought Leonardo was sleeping when he had snuck out of the living room, but Leonardo must have made his way up the back stairs and beat him to the top. He gently pushed his brother out of the way, not wanting his voice to carry and to wake anyone up.

Leonardo glared at him but didn't try to stop him from slowly and carefully opening Katherine's door.

Raphael knew that Katherine was a light sleeper and him even opening the door would probably wake her up.

He scanned the occupants in the bed and clutched his hands together in anger. Michelangelo was sprawled on his back, Katherine was on her side, her head resting on Michelangelo's shoulder, his arm around her shoulders. Donatello was pressed into Katherine's back, his arm wrapped around her waist.

Raphael took an angry step into the room.

Leonardo yanked him out, closing the door gently.

He opened his mouth to protest but his brother put a finger to his lips and shook his head.

Raphael reluctantly let Leonardo drag him downstairs and back into the living room.

"What do you think you are doing?" Raphael hissed at his brother, his voice rising slightly.

"Keep your voice down Raph, you want to wake up the whole house?" Leonardo asked him.

Raphael ground his teeth together. "Mikey is holding her and Donny is freaking spooning her!" He said in a hushed, anger laced voice.

"They are sleeping Raph, they aren't doing anything but letting her know that they are there. Just get some sleep and hopefully in the morning we can managed to have a private word with Katherine."

Raphael growled low in his throat but threw himself back onto the couch, curled up, and tried to sleep.

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><p><strong>Katherine<strong> woke up wrapped within two sets of strong arms. It took her a moment, but she remembered that the strong arms were not Leonardo and Raphael's, but Michelangelo and Donatello's.

She groaned and closed her eyes to go back to sleep. She didn't feel any better today than she had yesterday. She felt tired and her stomach was rolling around in her gut.

She opened her eyes again and sat straight up, waking both Donatello and Michelangelo.

"Kitten, what's wrong? Are you...?" Donatello asked her in concern.

"I didn't have a nightmare." She said with amazement.

Donatello and Michelangelo shared a look and smiled.

She hugged them both close.

Her door opened and her mother strode in wearing a floor length, red silk bathrobe.

"Mom!" She protested as she broke guiltily away from Michelangelo and Donatello. "Don't you ever knock?" She asked her mother in irritation.

"No. Where would the fun be in giving you warning that I was walking in?" Her mother questioned as she studied Michelangelo and Donatello, both of whom had blushes beginning to form on their cheeks.

"This isn't what it looks like." She protested hastily as she looked at her mother in embarrassment.

"I don't know, it looks like you are in bed with your boyfriend's brothers." Her mother said as she crossed her arms over her ample bosom.

"Well, yes but..."

"Four men Katherine?" Her mother asked a hint of anger in her voice.

"No." She protested. The problem was that she couldn't tell her mother why she was sleeping with Michelangelo and Donatello, but at the same time, she hated the disapproving look in her mother's eyes. After all, it wasn't as if she was doing anything wrong. She took a deep breath. "I broke up with Raphael and Leonardo." She said softly looking down at her hands which were worrying a piece of comforter.

"And you have replaced them with their bothers?" Her mother asked shaking her head.

"No, of course not. Maybe, taking a break would be a better way to put it rather than breaking up. I just don't like sleeping alone. That's all." She said softly.

My mother raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Well I suppose this puts a different light on things then." Her mother said with a smile as she turned and exited her room.

"Why did you even come in here?" She shouted at her mother's back.

"I have some calls to make dear." Her mother 's voice drifted from the stairs.

She flopped back down on her bed and covered her eyes. "That woman drives me nuts." She mumbled. "Is there anything going on today?" She asked Donatello.

Donatello frowned. "No." He said reaching out and touching her forehead.

"Good. I'm going back to sleep for a bit." She said as buried her head in her pillow, closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> opened her eyes a few hours later and groaned as Raphael's face came into view. "Donny told me to keep an eye on you." He said to her.

"I'm fine, just a bit of the flu, that's all. I don't even have a fever." She said as she sat up.

She crawled out of bed and headed for the bathroom, Raphael following close behind her. "Go away." She mumbled as she closed and locked the door in his face. She did not want to deal with Raphael at the moment.

"Kitten, we need to talk." He shouted through the door.

"We will. Later. Now go away." She said as she used the toilet and started the shower. She closed her eyes as the water ran down her body. She did have to talk with both Leonardo and Raphael, but later, when her mother and Casey and April left.

She grimaced. Her mother would be here until Monday. April and Casey were leaving tomorrow as well, but her mother bothered her more.

She finished with her shower and shuffled down to the kitchen for...lunch, if the clock on the stove was any indication of the hour.

Michelangelo was busy at the counter making sandwiches, April was feeding Shadow, and her mother was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and the paper. She frowned wondering where her mother had found a paper.

Her mother looked at her over the paper. "That Casey is such a nice young man. Driving all the way into town to get me the paper."

She looked at April in apology. She gave another cursory look around the kitchen.

"Everyone else is outside getting some wood. I think Donny's tinkering in the garage though." April said as she began to burp Shadow.

Katherine sat down in the chair closest to her. "You feel like eating Kitten?" Michelangelo asked.

Katherine looked at the sandwiches. "I'll try to force one down Michelangelo, thank you." She said as her mother gave her a concerned look.

"Awwhhh. My poor baby is heartsick." Her mother said folding the paper in half and placing it on the table.

"I'm not heartsick mom." She grumbled.

"I know just the thing to make you feel better." He mother said with a brilliant smile.

"I have the flu mom." She said with resignation, knowing her mother wasn't going to listen to her anyway.

"A man." Her mother said proudly.

"I already have too many of those." She mumbled.

"Speak up sweetheart, you are mumbling." Her mother chastised. "Anyway, you are going out on a date on Tuesday with Barry Milton."

" A what with who?" She exclaimed in shock.

There was a crash as Michelangelo dropped a dish on the ground.

Her mother frowned at Michelangelo, who blushed and stammered he was going to go find a broom. "Well, you said you broke up, so I've found you a new man."

"Shadow needs to be changed." April anounced as she gathered up a few of Shadow's thinngs. Katherine watched as her friend left the kitchen and wished she could do the same.

She turned her attention back to her mother."I don't need a new one. I am taking a break." She said to her mother angrily.

"Oh please dear, if you feel the need to break up, it isn't meant to be." Her mother said with a wave of her hand as she proteested. "Now dear don't argue, think of what you owe to the family name." She said to her.

Katherine's mouth fell open in shock. She mimed clearing out her ear. "I'm sorry, say that again, I didn't hear you through the huge expanse of time that separates the 21st century from the 17th century."

"You've lost me." Her mother said in confusion.

"You've never cared about the family name mom. You're freaking me out, you sound like grandma." She accused.

"Well I will admit your grandmother and I used to have many disagreements, but I think in this she was right."

"No. I am not going out on a date with Barry Milton, whoever he is." She ground out through clenched teeth.

"Dear it is time you thought about getting married, settling down and giving me some grandchildren."

"What!" She shouted as she stood in horror. "I'm only 21 mom! I am not getting married, I am not having any kids in the foreseeable future, and I am not 'settling down'."

"I was married at your age you know." Her mother pointed out. "Of course my parents had picked out a different man to be my husband, but I loved your father. And my parents didn't object too much, after all, your father may not have come from wealth, but he had _potential_. Which is almost as important." Her mother said with a dreamy smile. "In fact, I was pregnant with you when I was 21." Her mother pointed out.

"Different time mom." She said shaking her head. Something hit her then. "What kind of TV show are you working on?" She asked her mother suspiciously. According to rumour when her mother acted she sometimes got too immersed in her characters at times.

"It is a made for TV movie sweetheart. I play a rich socialite's mother who lived during the 1800s in New York. Her daughter is supposed to marry a very wealthy gentleman who had just come over from England, but she is very stubborn and wishes to marry a nobody." Her mother said with irritation.

Katherine rubbed her temples."Great." She mumbled.

"Barry is perfectly eligible." Her mother pointed out. "He's one of the Stanford Milton's you know." Her mother said as if that meant something, which it probably did, but she had no idea what it meant.

A thought hit her. She hadn't heard from her uncle in a very long time. "Something's happened to Uncle Carin." Katherine said in growing dread as she sat back slowly down on her chair.

Her mother looked at her grimly. "You are the last of the Wraith line sweetheart. After you, all of our wealth will just get passed over to who knows where." She said an underlying bit of tension in her voice. "The Milton's are an old family, but not so old that they would object to say, you passing your maiden name to your children instead of taking their surname.

"Are you listening to yourself?" She asked. "There is a reason I go by dad's last name and not your last name mom, and that is because I don't want people to know who I am. Now just stop with the crazy, and tell me what happened to Uncle Carin."

Her mother burst into tears."It's awful dear, just awful." Her mother wailed.

Katherine felt a lump form in her throat. "Uncle Carin, did he...?" She swallowed. "He's dead, isn't he?" She asked softly.

"Worse." Her mother sobbed. "He...He's getting married!"

Katherine nearly fell off her chair. She looked at her distraught mother in shock and put her head down on the table. She closed her eyes and swallowed down her anger.

"Mom, how can getting married be worse than dead? And I am especially interested since you suddenly want me to get married." She said in a controlled voice.

"If your Uncle gets married to this gold digging hussy, where will that leave you?" Her mother asked.

"Me?" She asked in confusion. "What does Uncle Carin getting married have to do with me?"

"If he married this woman," Her mother may as well have been saying 'this treacherous viper', her voice dripped with so much loathing. "He may leave everything to her!"

"Oookkaayy?" She said still not getting it.

"A complete stranger marrying your Uncle for his fortune. No. You must prove to your uncle that you deserve to inherit the money along with the businesses."

"Businesses?" She asked in growing horror.

"Of course, and if you have children it will be even more compelling from a legal standpoint." Her mother pointed out reasonably. "Of course, if your uncle has a child we will of course see to the child's welfare, but..."

"Mom." She interrupted. "Uncle Carin is 74, I don't think there is any chance of him..."

Her mother cut her off. "Never underestimate the power of a man's swimmers dear." Her mother said sagely.

"Okay, I have had enough of crazy town for one morning." Katherine said as she stood.

"Katherine!" Her mother protested.

"I'm done mom." She said waving her hand and walking out.

"But Barry Milton had the highest bid to take you to the Museum's Fundraiser Dinner and Silent Auction that you are hosting." Her mother's voice drifted into the hallway.

Katherine turned around and stuck her head back into the kitchen. "What are you talking about? What fundraiser dinner and auction?" She asked in trepidation.

Her mother frowned at her. "The one your Uncle was supposed to host, but since he has decided he has to get married to this floozy instead, he told me that you were going to host it."

"Uncle Carin never asked me..." She said to her mother shaking her head.

"He said that he wanted to attract a younger crowd, so he posted a date with you online as an incentive. He used a very flattering picture, although I do not think that he should have used the one of you in the bikini, but your uncle knows that sex sells. Anyway the highest bidder gets to take you to the dinner and the auction."

Katherine ground her teeth together. "I never agreed to any of this." She said angrily.

"Well, your Uncle did e-mail you. He's been out of contact with his phone for a while, something about bad redeption or no phones." He mother paused in thought and shrugged. "But he e-mailed me. I thought you would enjoy doing something for the museum and to help your uncle. I suppose I forgot to tell you. Yes I recall I was going to call you but you were indisposed and then I got the call from my agent about this TV movie and it quite slipped my mind. Oh well, you know now. And now that you are single, it's even better."

Her mother showed her the front page of today's paper. She looked at it in horror as her picture as well as Barry's were together on the front as well as details outlining the fundraiser for the museum and the silent auction.

"When was the last time you checked your e-mail dear?" Her mother asked her.

"I..." She couldn't remember. A month. Two? She closed her eyes and swore.

"I thought it would be nice if you met Barry before the Fundraiser." Her mother said to her.

"No." She said shaking her head. "You call Barry back and you tell him that I am too busy. I am planning an auction and dinner I knew nothing about. I have to go." She said as she strode out of the room, bumping into Michelangelo who was looking at her grimly.

"Kitten..." He began softly.

"Not right now Michelangelo." She said as she rushed down the hallway to the library.

She grabbed the laptop that was sitting at her uncle's desk and opened her e-mail. There were well over one hundred. Some from her uncle telling her what was going on, and many more from assistants attempting to get her input for the dinner and items for the auction.

She sat staring at the screen for what felt like hours. It probably had been, judging by the growing darkness outside. She hated society events. She never went to them, she didn't plan them. Though thinking about it, her uncle hated them as well. He probably decided to get married just so he wouldn't have to go. She clenched her teeth together in irritation. She had tried to get a hold of her uncle a few times, but it just kept going to voicemail, so she had left a message.

The Fundraiser for the museum was in two weeks, and thankfully all of the assistants had done most of the work. She was however still short on some items for the silent auction. Luckily she was sitting in her uncle's house, which was full of rare antiques and so she was going to donate one or two for the cause, as well as the one painting she still had left, which was the one featured in the paper. A paper she had never got to see because of Hun and his goons. She slammed the door on that thought and closed her laptop.

She was actually quite surprised that no one had decided to bother her. She looked towards the door at Leonardo who was about to knock. He looked pale and grim. She closed her eyes and groaned, knowing that her mother's conversation had reached his ears.

She stood up. "Leonardo..." She began.

"I understand Katherine." He said softly interrupting her. "Family is important. Your family name is important."

"Leonardo..." She began again but he again interrupted her. "You're mother is right. You should think about dating humans. Then you would be able to get married and have children. You wouldn't have to worry about someone discovering us and you wouldn't have to hide who you are dating. You would be able to have all of the things that you would be unable to have if you were with one of us." He finished. His words so soft she had to strain to hear them.

"I don't care about that Leonardo." She said with a tinge of anger in her voice.

"You're young Katherine. You are so young. If you stayed with one of us, your life would be filled with nothing but regret and missed opportunities. We won't be the ones who keep you from them. Besides, I couldn't bear it if by you choosing one of us, it resulted in you and your mother having a falling out. I will not be responsible for breaking up your family. " He said as he turned on his heel.

Katherine grimaced as her own thoughts in regards to Leonardo and Raphael were thrown in her face. "Leonardo." Her voice was sharp. Leonardo paused, but did not turn around to look at her. "It sounds like you are trying to break up with me, even though I have already broken up with you." She said calmly, repressing the anger that boiled within her, because at this point she didn't care. She would go against her mother's wishes. She would fight for them because she loved them.

"You have to let me go." Leonardo said as he took another step towards the door.

"This room is filled with very expensive, and very rare items Leonardo." Katherine began, her voice cold and unforgiving.

Leonardo turned and frowned at her in confusion.

"And if you don't get your head out of your ass, I am going to start throwing said expensive and rare objects at your head to see if I can knock some sense into you." She said as she hefted a round, glass paper weight from her uncle's desk.

"Katherine," Leonardo said with a shake of his head.

She threw the glass paperweight at him, hard. She was fairly accurate, having been fairly good at baseball when she was younger.

Leonardo's eyes widened in shock as he caught the weight before it hit him in the head.

"Katherine!" Leonardo said as she grabbed a mug that was sitting on the desk. It was probably her mother's from earlier this morning. Leonardo held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, just put the mug down." He said to her.

She griped the mug more firmly in her hand as she marched up to him. "I'm so young? Missed opportunities? " She said in a cool voice.

"You're 5 years younger than I am." He protested. "And you have no idea what you are missing."

"That means that we are approximately the same age Leonardo." She said cutting him off. "And besides, it is not as if I am some sheltered rich girl who knows nothing of the real world." She ground out. "My life. I get to choose what I do with it, and who to spend it with, not my mom. I have to do the stupid dinner and auction because it would make my uncle look bad if I backed out. And he did try to clear everything with me and when he couldn't get a hold of me he called my mom. Who agreed that I would love to do it, and who then completely forgot to tell me what was going on."

"I can't get you to go against the wishes of your family Katherine." He said softly.

"Leo's right." Raphael said as he walked into the room. He was covered in sweat. He had obviously been going a few rounds with his heavy bag that they had set up in the garage.

Katherine's eyes widened in shock.

"You deserve better." Raphael said, his voice cracking slightly, his knuckles clenched so tightly together that they were white.

"So I deserve a man who is going to have lots of money, and be able to keep me in the kind of lifestyle I am accustomed?" SHe asked cooly.

"I can't give you that Kitten!" Raphael protested. "I can't marry you, I can't give you kids. Your mother hates me! And your family would never even know who I was!"

"So you want me to stop loving you, stop loving both of you and walk out of you lives?" She asked softly. Raphael and Leonardo winced. "I am supposed to marry a man I don't love, because my mother told me to, so that some woman who I don't know, and who may actually love my uncle, won't steal our family fortune?"

"Screw it Leo." Raphael said angrily as he strode up to her. "I don't care how much her mom hates me." He said desperately as he reached out and touched her scarred cheek. Leonardo's shoulders slumped in resignation, giving Raphael a curt nod of agreement.

She closed her eyes as a wave of exhaustion rode through her. She could almost fall asleep standing up she was so tired. "I'm going to bed." She grumbled as Raphael reached out and grabbed her arms. "Alone."

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> reached out to Katherine, but Raphael was already there.

Katherien looked at them both. SHe was pale and looked exhausted. "Tell April and Casey that I am so sorry that I am a horrible host. I just need to get some rest and I will feel better tomorrow." Katherine said as she gave the mug to him. She pulled from Raphael's grip and walked from the room.

He glared at his brother. "I'm sorry Leo, Kay? I just can't let her be a lamb up to slaughter because this guy is rich and her mom wants her to marry him."

"It isn't our call to make Raph." Leonardo said sternly. He saw his brother was about to protest but he held up his hand. "It's hers." He finished softly.

Raphael seemed to think about this a moment before he gave a curt nod. "She really have to go on this date?" Raphael asked in irritation.

"Yes, she does, but I don't want her to." Donatello said as he walked into the room with Michelangelo on his heels.

Michelangelo closed the doors behind him.

Donatello went around the desk and opened Katherine's laptop. He furiously began typing away at the computer. He finally turned the laptop around so that they could all see the screen.

"Barry Milton, young, handsome, rich." Donatello said pointing to the screen.

"I don't like him." Raphael growled as Leonardo studied the man in the photo. He looked to be late 20's with dark blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Great, he's perfect, so what's the catch?" Raphael asked, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"No catch. His family business is in security, as in, they are contracted to supply security for US troops as well as government officials among others. They also get contracted out for hostage negotiations and kidnappings in unstable countries. Barry has worked as security in some of the most war torn areas of the world. He's a fighter. Katherine's mom is no fool. If anyone could protect Kitten from whatever it is her mother believes her still to be in danger from, it would be him."Donatello said as he turned the screen around and began typing furiously. "And that brings me to the important part." Donatello turned the laptop back around and pointed to the news article from two months ago, the one that detailed the finding of Hun's body in the Dumpster.

Leonardo frowned in thought as he tried to follow his brother's logic.

"The Purple Dragon's that were here thought that Kitten was dead." Donatello began. "That her body hasn't been found wouldn't surprise them since the area is secluded and Kitten is a bit of a recluse." Donatello said pointing to the screen. "But what do you think is going to happen when Kitten shows up at this very public event, very much alive?" Donatello asked them.

Raphael frowned. "You don't seriously think that what is left of the Purple Dragons would try for revenge?" Raphael asked in shock.

"I don't think we can discount it Raph." Leonardo said grimly.

"We told Kaitten's mom that we would protect her." Raphael said to him. "Even though we thought she was out of danger."

"We should tell Kitten not to go." Michelangelo said with worry.

Leonardo wanted to agree but he knew Katherine too well. "If we tell her not to go, the Fundraiser loses out, and her uncle's reputation would suffer. Besides, she can't hide that she is alive forever. At the moment we are just speculating. We don't tell her anything, for now. Not until we have more information."

* * *

><p><strong>Sooooo thoughts? Opinions? Was it worth the wait?<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Alrighty all. Sorry this chapter took so long to put up but I got hit with a nasty flu.(yeah I really did ironic isn't it?) Anyway so here is chapter 3. I hope to update more often now that I am no longer sick.**

**A big thank you to D'Fuentes, chibiwolf33, Rocky 181 and moonie016 for your reviews!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

**Leonardo** looked over at Raphael who was sitting in the passenger seat, a frown on his face.

"I don't like leavin' her Leo." His brother growled.

"I don't like it either Raph, but Mikey and Donny are going to watch her for a few days." He said to his brother reassuringly.

"That supposed to make me feel better Leo?" Raphael huffed out as he crossed his arms over his chest in irritation.

Leonardo sighed. "Look at it this way, at least Katherine slept alone last night, and she didn't have any nightmares."

His brother's shoulders relaxed and he uncrossed his arms. "Fine, but it would be better if Kitten's mom was gone. She was supposed to be leavin' today, now she's decided to stay for the rest of the week. I don't think I can stand a week with her looking at me as if I am worth less than that damn rich guy Kitten has to go to dinner with. And don't even get me started on that." His brother said with a growl.

"I don't like it any more than you do. But it's just dinner with a whole bunch of other people, for a good cause. Besides it's something that is important to both Katherine and her."

Raphael growled deep in his throat. "What if this guy ends up stealin' her away Leo?" Raphael asked him, a waiver of worry in his voice.

"Then that is her choice Raph." Leonardo said softly.

His brother glared at him. "You really willin to just let her go?" Raphael asked with a loe growl.

Leonardo's hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly, that he could feel the plastic biting into his hands. "She'd be better off Raph."

"She'd be better off?" Raphael asked incredulous.

"She might be in danger again because of us." He said guiltily.

"Might Leo, she _might_ be. We don't know."

Leonardo sighed.

"So what's the plan anyway? Go find some Purple Dragon scum and beat the living daylights out of them? Warn them away? I still owe those bastards for what they did to me." Raphael said cracking his knuckles."Kitten never said I couldn't get a little revenge for myself."

Leonardo glanced at his brother and turned his attention back to the road. "As far as the Purple Dragons know, Katherine is dead. If we go in there and warn them away from Katherine, that will just alert them to her earlier. We don't know if there is even still a Purple Dragon gang, or if they just disbanded after Hun's death."

"So how are we going to find out what's been going on for the past two months?"

Leonardo briefly closed his eyes as he contemplated the ramifications of what he was about to suggest. "I have an idea Raph, but you aren't going to like it." He said softly. His brother frowned at him. "We're going to scout he streets, see what we can hear and find out."

"Okay, sounds fine to me, what ain't I gonna like?" Raphael asked.

"If we can't find anything or if we need additional information, I think we should go see Karai."

"Are you nuts!" Raphael yelled. "Karai..."

"_Was_ our enemy. We have had a truce with her for years Raph."

"I don't care Leo, I don't trust her as far as I can throw her."

"I know, but I don't see any other option. Karai will have inside information on the workings of the Purple Dragons, if they are still operating."

Raphael shook his head. "Don't care. I hate the idea."

"I know Raph, but if going to Karai keeps Katherine safe, then I'll do it." He said softly.

"We might not walk out of there alive Leo."

" I know, but I was willing to go to her when we couldn't find you, and she warned me when Mikey was out trying to get revenge for your death."

Raphael's eyes widened in shock. "You went to Karai to try to find me?" He asked. "And what do you mean she warned you about Mikey?"

"I never had to go to Karia because we found an ex-gang member who told us what happened to you, or at least, what he thought happened to you." Leonardo replied softly. The image of his brother falling 4 stories into the dumpster below still gave him nightmares. "And Karai told me Mikey was out roughing up Purple Dragons, trying to find your killers."

Raphael frowned. "Is that what Mikey was talking about, when he told me a few months back that he had done some things he wasn't proud of?" He asked.

Leonardo flicked a glance at his brother. "I would assume so."

Raphael looked as if he was struggling to remember what Michelangelo had told him.

"Is it hard for you Raph? I mean, I know you have had your memory back for three months..." He let the sentence trail off.

Raphael flicked a glance at him and shrugged. "It's strange sometimes. I mean I know Rogue was me, but sometimes it's like he wasn't me. If that makes any sense. But some of the conversations you guys had with Rogue are sorta fuzzy. I think it was cause I wasn't payin that much attention to what you guys were sayin." He said with a shake of his head. His brother's face grew more serious as he looked out his window. "Sometimes I wonder if Kitten loves Rogue and not me. And she keeps waitin' to see Rogue somewhere in me, but has finally just...given up." His brother said softly.

"Raph, that isn't true." He protested.

"Leo, I ain't stupid. Rogue was better'n me. He was patient, happier, had a better grip on his temper. He doesn't have half the issues I do." He grumbled.

"Raph, you are Rogue and Rogue is you. I will admit that there are slight differences in your personalities, but the important things, the things that matter, they are the same."

Raphael sighed. "I know. It's stupid to be jealous of myself. But I don't even know if she's taken us back or not."

"Us Raph?" Leonardo asked softly.

"Just shut up and drive Fearless." Raphael grumbled as he curled up in the passenger seat and pretended to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> glared at the skyscraper across the street. "So what's the plan, we gonna use the front door or what?" He asked in irritation. He was frustrated. They had spent 3 days chasing their tails trying to find any leads or whispers of Purple Dragon activity, and they had come up with nothing. If the Purple Dragons were still active, they were either covering their tracks very well, or they were still licking their wounds and re-grouping.

"Knowing Karai, she already knows that we are here." Leonardo said as he stood.

Raphael felt a sword at his throat. He flicked a glance at his brother and discovered a sword at his brother's throat as well.

"I thought you said she was friendly?" He growled at his brother.

"She was." Leonardo grimaced.

"Mistress Karai would like a word with you." One of the ninjas said as Raphael's world went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> approached Donatello angrily. "Where are they Donatello?" She asked in a controlled voice that promised retribution if Donatello continued to deny knowledge of both Leonardo and Raphael's whereabouts.

"I told you, they went to the city to check on the lair and find out how the city has been doing in our absence." He said as he took a step back.

"They've been gone 3 days Donatello and you are worried because you keep glancing at the clock and you have little worry lines etched into your brow at the moment. So stop lying to me."

"I...I'm not lying." Donatello denied shaking his head back and forth, raising his hands to ward her off, and taking another step back.

"Then why are you so worried?" She asked as her nose touched his snout.

"I...I...they just should have been back by now." He stammered.

"Hey Donny I..." Michelangelo walked into the room took one look at her and Donatello and tried to run. She was faster, having already strode across the room before he had processed that she was furious.

"Where are they Michelangelo and don't tell me you don't know, or that they are just patrolling the city."

"Kitten, I don't know why you are...eepp!" He said as she buried her hands under his shirt.

"Don't make me do this Michelangelo." She warned.

"They should be home soon, they just went to...No..Kitten, no...Katherine..." He begged as she got right into his armpits and sides and started to tickle him.

He fell over in whoops of laughter. He tried to buck her off, but she continued her torture so that he would talk.

"Okay...okay.." Michelangelo gasped. "Just don't...no more." He pleaded.

She nodded her head but kept her hands ready to inflicted more torture if needed.

"They are seeing if they can find out whatever happened to the Purple Dragons, and if they can't learn anything, they are going to see Karai." He gasped.

Katherine sat back in thought. "Karai, Karai, why does that name sound..." Katherine frowned. "Karai Saki?" She asked.

Michelangelo frowned and nodded as he pulled himself up.

"Why would they go to see Karai Saki?" She asked in confusion.

"How do you know Karai?" Donatello asked her.

"I don't _know_ her, but I know_ of_ her. She's wealthy and powerful. In fact, she is donating a sword to the silent auction. How do you know her?"

Donatello and Michelangelo exchanged a look. Donatello began talking.

Katherine rubbed her temples. "Okay, let me get this straight. Karai is the head of a ninja organization called the Foot and a major crime boss who used to be your enemy, but now you have entered into an uneasy truce of sorts because you worked together to beat a resurrected demon from the past."

Michelangelo and Donatello nodded.

"And they probably went to see Karai because they really need to find out the movements of the Purple Dragons because...?" She looked at both Michelangelo and Donatello who looked guiltily back to her. "They want revenge?" She asked. Neither of them betrayed any emotion. She thought over reasons they would risk putting themselves into the hands of an old and former enemy and winced. "Because they are worried about the Purple Dragons coming after me once they find out I'm alive."

Michelangelo twitched.

"Damn it! When were you going to tell me!" She asked angrily, a thread of hurt leaking into her voice.

They shared another look.

"Leonardo." Katherine growled. "Fine." She turned and stomped from the room. "Grab the SUV and give me ten minutes, you even think of leaving without me and I kick you out." She threw over her shoulder as she ran up the stairs.

When she had finished getting ready, she carefully made her way down the stairs.

"Mikey don't even think about it." She heard Donatello whisper.

"She said ten minutes, as far as I'm concerned, if she isn't down here in 10 minutes we get to...blah." Michelangelo said as he looked at her, his brain obviously disconnecting from his mouth.

"Blah..?" Donatello asked in confusion as he turned around. His eyes widened in shock. She had done her hair, put on makeup and a skin tight, above the knee, thin strapped, litttle black dress with black stilettos with red soles, and a blue clutch.

"Ninja time?" Katherine questioned as she took in both brothers who were dressed from head to toe in black and were carrying their weapons.

"Uhh?" Michelangelo said as he made vague movements in her direction.

"Trust me." She said as she walked to the kitchen so she could go out the back door.

"Katherine honey," Her mother called out from the living room. "Why are you wearing my dress and shoes? Where are you going, did you change your mind about Barry?" Her mother asked as she walked out from the living room.

"No, I am going to rescue my two idiotic boyfriends." She grumbled.

"I thought you broke up." He mother asked.

"It's complicated mom." She shouted over her shoulder.

"Is that what's on your facebook profile?" He mother asked.

"I'm not on facebook mom." She shouted as she walked out the back door, grabbing her mother's very expensive navy trench on the way out. She stopped dead. She looked at the converted armoured truck. "Where's my SUV?" She asked as Michelangelo and Donatello followed her outside. "They took my SUV?" She said with a shake of her head, "Unbelievable."

She opened the door and managed to climb inside. Michelangelo drove while Donatello rode in the back. He handed her a listening device. She looked at it in confusion.

"If you can distract Karai, we will be able to sneak into her tower and rescue Raph and Leo." Donatello told her. "I can listen in to your conversation and direct you." He said to her.

She put the hearing device in her ear. "Donatello, you and Michelangelo stay in the truck. I've got this one."

"Kitten you have no idea who you are dealing with." Michelangelo protested. "Do you think that Karai is just going to let you walk in there and take Raph and Leo back?" Michelangelo asked.

"I don't know." She answered. "Technically we don't even know if they have been captured by Karai. But as I have no doubt that you have already called them several times and neither of them has answered, I suppose it is safe to assume that they have fallen into Karai's unfriendly hands. So, I am asking you two to trust me and let me handle this. I will wear this stupid ear piece, but I expect you two to only come running if I start screaming. Otherwise stay put. I would imagine it would be very bad if all four of you were captured. At least this way you two can save all of us if things go all pear shaped."

"Kitten..." Donatello began. She glared at him. Donatello sighed, his shoulders slumping "Good." She said happily. "Now Michelangelo quit driving like an old woman and floor this thing."

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><p><strong>Raphael<strong> groaned as he opened his eyes. He seemed to be having problems keeping his eyes open. They kept slipping closed and his mouth tasted like metal. He shook his head a few times to see if he could clear it as he tried to remember what had happened.

His arms were stretched out above his head, tied with rope to the ceiling leaving him hanging and just barely able to touch the ground. Leonardo hung unconscious beside him. "Leo." He whispered to his brother.

His brother groaned in response.

"Come on Leo, wake up, we gotta get out of here." He said as he pulled at the ropes to no avail.

His brother shook his head and opened his eyes quickly taking in their surroundings. They were in what appeared to be a large training room of some sort.

"You will never break free turtle." Karai said as she walked into the room. She was dressed in her usual form fitting black outfit with silver armour.

Raphael frowned. "You know Leo, Mikey's right, Kitten is by far scarier."

Karai frowned in confusion, but ignored his comment. "You have interfered for the last time. I thought we had a truce, but it seems, I was wrong." She said to them.

"We did have a truce Karai, until you broke it." Leonardo said to her.

"I expected more from you Leonardo. I expected you to honour and keep your word, instead, I find you are no better than you honourless brothers."

"Hey!" Raphael protested.

"I kept my word Karai." Leoanrdo began. "My brothers and I have stayed out of your business, and you have left my family alone, until this night when I came seeking your aid and you betrayed us."

"You came to attack me while I was weak, while my guards and my men are busy trying to hold my territory stable." Karai accused.

"I came here to ask you about the Purple Dragons." His brother said angrily.

Karai punched Leonardo across the face. "Do not play me for a fool Leonardo. I know it was you who killed Hun."

"Since when you care about that oversized waste of space?" Raphael growled.

Karai's attention slid to him. "I care nothing for him, except that he kept the Purple Dragons in line, as well as many of the other smaller gangs. No one was stupid enough to rise up against Hun or I since we had an alliance of sorts. Which is why you got rid of him." Karai's attention slid back to Leonardo.

Leonardo was frowning. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Karai kneed Leonardo in the gut. His brother grunted in pain as he swung gently away from Karai.

"Hey Karai, why don't you undo these ropes, and me an' you will settle things, once and for all." He said as he pulled at the ropes.

Karai walked over to him. "You were supposed to be dead. I can correct that inconsistency." She said as she pulled her sword from her hip.

Cold steel was suddenly pressed against his throat.

"Karai!" Leonardo shouted. "You have my word, I don't know what you are talking about. We did not kill Hun" He said as he pulled at the ropes around his wrists..

Karai's sword left his throat. She pointed it at Leonardo's throat, the tip resting against his jugular. "Your word means nothing to me. I know that you and your brothers were involved. I choose to ignore the rumours about Hun's death being caused by a ghost." She said with a disgusted shake of her head. "Hun was found with blade wounds to his body. The coroner concluded the murder weapon was a large knife or a sword. Your weapon of choice I believe, Leonardo. And because you decided to kill Hun, a new crime syndicate has slowly been taking over New York."

Leonardo's eyes widened with shock.

"If I kill you and your brother's, it might give me enough leverage to push back 'The Face'." She said as her blade dented his brother's skin.

"We didn't kill Hun Lady, but believe me, I wish with every fibre of my being that we had. But Hun's death is your problem, not ours. And really, you scared of a guy who's name is The Face?" Raphael snorted. "What, he too pretty to get his hands dirty?"

Lightning fast Karai punched him in the jaw. He moved his mouth as he tried to get his jaw working again. He shook the spots from his eyes.

"He is called 'The Face' because if you cross him he takes a knife and cuts your face from your skull while you are still alive. They say he had a room full of the faces of his victims."

"Lovely." Raphael said shaking his head again.

"Now, I am a very busy woman. I am trying to consolidate my power and get some of the smaller gangs under my protection. To ensure their loyalty, I have to give them a little bit of...incentive." She said as she twirled her sword. "I apologize Leonardo. I almost believe that you are telling the truth."

A foot soldier appeared in front of Karai. "I told you I was not to be disturbed." She snapped in irritation. Karai frowned in confusion as the ninja whispered in her ear. "Now?" She asked. "Fine, watch them. It appears I have other matters to attend." She said as she strode from the room.

Raphael pulled at the ropes again, trying to get them to give even a tiny bit that would allow him to get his wrists free. He looked at his brother who struggled as well but to no avail.

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><p><strong>Thoughts? Opinions?<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**I apologize for the short chapter, but it was one of those things where one chapter got just too long, so next chapter will be longer=)**

**A big thank you to chibiwolf33 and Rocky181 for your reviews!**

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><p><span>Chapter 4<span>

**Katherine** looked at the doors of the building and crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot in irritation. She buzzed again.

"I don't like this Kitten." Michelangelo's voice said in her ear.

"Just listen for my scream and stay back. If she has your brothers she is probably looking out for you two as well." She said as the door was opened by hulking man in black wearing ray-bans and an ear piece. "I am here to see Ms Saki." Katherine said as she studied her nails and pretended she had so many more important things to be doing at the moment.

She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She took her fear and worry and shoved them in a box. Those emotions would not help her get Leonardo and Raphael out alive.

"Do you have an appointment?" The mountain asked.

She raised her eyebrow. "I don't need an appointment." She said in her best haughty tone. "You can apologize to Ms Saki for the lateness of the hour, but my business is with her, not you." Her tone didn't even covey distain, instead it implied that he was so beneath her notice that he was insignificant. She waited politely. She knew better than to barge in, it would just create the impression that she cared, or that her business was urgent, and she did not want to convey either.

The thug frowned down at her. "Name?" He asked.

She raised her eyebrow again. "Katherine Brooks."

The mountain tried to think.

"Just tell her I'm here." She said in irritation.

Big and dumb went back into the lobby of the building leaving her out on the sidewalk.

"Michelangelo?" Katherine asked softly.

"We're still here." Donatello replied.

Katherine frowned as she noticed something different about the background noise coming through the earpiece. "You two stop. I know you two want to charge in and rescue them, but please, trust me. If you two barge in weapons blazing I'm going to get hurt." She said softly.

There was silence on the other end until she heard a soft growl. "Fine, but I hear even the start of things going badly, and we are coming in." Michelangelo's voice said in her ear.

The goon opened the door and ushered her in. She walked into the Lobby of The Oroku Saki Building.

The goon attempted to grab her by the arm, but she evaded his meaty hand. "This coat costs more than you make in 6 months, don't touch." She warned.

He held out his hand. "Coat and purse." He said to her.

Katherine wondered how much of a fight she should put up, but she figured she would look even more unassuming and harmless. She shrugged out of her coat and gave the goon her purse. She then turned and walked to the elevators, the goon following her in and pushing the button for the 20th floor.

She crossed her arms over her chest and waited until the elevator doors opened. She walked out, the goon did'nt follow. She entered the waiting area of an office. There were another two guards guarding the office door. She sat down on a leather couch that was against one wall and looked around. It looked like a typical office, building, bland but functional, but Katherine knew that this was just the 'official' section of the building. There were so many other floors, and she knew that she was not even close to where Raphael and Leonardo would be held.

Karai's security was incredibly tight, but she knew that these two guarding the office door were just the hired thugs to fool anyone who was unaware of Karai's other 'occupation'.

The office door opened and Karai walked out. She had a smile on her face as if she was trying her hardest to give the impression that she was curious and friendly, but it looked forced.

"Miss Brooks." Karai said as she held out her hand. Katherine stood and studied the other woman as she shook her hand.

Karai was older than she was closer, to 30 and was wearing a red robe of some sort over her clothes. It wasn't a bath robe, more like a kimono, but less fancy.

Katherine smiled, but unlike Karai, her smile was genuine. "Ms Saki. I'm sorry for bothering you so late. I know you have private apartments here, otherwise I would have thought you to have been gone home for the night."

"Yes. I am rather busy at the moment, so I would like to know what it sis I can do for you. I would assume it has to do with my contribution to the silent auction?" She asked as she led her into the office. She sat behind her desk, motioning for her to sit in the chair.

She didn't bother to sit. "It does actually." She said truthfully. She _was_ going to talk to Karai about her contribution, before she had found out who Karai actually was. Of course, she had planning on doing it over the phone, but this worked just as well. "I would like to see the sword if I may." She told Karai.

Karai frowned at her. "Do you doubt the sword's authenticity?" She asked rising.

She smiled. "Rather the opposite."

Karai's eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what she was after. "Follow me." Karai said as she led the way through her office and back to the elevator. She punched the button for the pent house. Somehow Katherine didn't think that Leonardo and Raphael would be in Karai's private apartments, but they might be on the same floor. In fact if she were Karai, she would keep her weapons close to where she would keep prisoners. But of course, she could be wrong.

She watched Karai walk from the elevator. Her movements were careful, controlled and full of grace. In fact, the way Karai moved reminded her of the way all of the brothers moved. But her poise and her general demeanour reminded her very much of Leonardo.

She followed Karai down a long hallway with various sliding rice paper doors to the end of the hallway. Karai slid open a door revealing a wooden floored interior. The walls were also of wood, with tall, red painted, wooden columns supporting the roof. There were braziers set up at regular intervals which led to a dais of sorts which heald various objects on a ceremonial table of sorts. As she walked closer she was able to see the objects on the table better. There were pieces of armour a few different swords, a metal glove of some sort with two spikes and a helmet. Her eyes flicked to the shadows of the room's large interior and took note of the shapes that were denser than the shadows.

"This sword has been in my father's family for generations." Karai said softly as she picked up the sword from its stand.

"That is what concerned me." She said to Karai. "This is an extremely rare, incredibly old sword. It is more a work of art than a weapon. I was concerned as to the reason you are donating it to the auction."

Karai drew the sword from its sheath.

"Kitten, what are you doing?" Michelangelo hissed in her ear.

"I have come to the conclusion, that sometimes holding onto the past can be damaging to future possibilities." She said softly as she looked down the blade of the sword. "Do you think it is possible for people to change Miss Brooks?" She asked.

Katherine frowned as she seriously thought over the question. "I think people can change if they want to change. I also believe that people can change because of someone, for someone. But if they are forced to change, or if someone wishes them to change, I do not believe they can or will, at least not for long."

Karai studied her as if for some reason she had surprised her. "I do not believe you are as I expected you to be."

Katherine smiled. "I don't think anyone is really who we are expected to be." She said truthfully. "May I?" She questioned as she held out her hand for the sword.

Karai handed her the sword. She looked at the blade and felt the grip. The sword was heavy in her hands. Of course she knew how heavy a sword was. Leonardo had been giving her lessons, as were all the brothers, in their particular weapons. She excelled more with the bo and Raphael's sais. Michelangelo's nunchucks were impossible and she had found Leonardo's swords cumbersome and heavy. She wasn't too bad with just one sword, but she knew that she was not even close to being anywhere in the vicinity of Karai's weight class. Which was why she was taking a page from Donatello's book, and attempting brains over brawn, with her own personal twist.

"As long as you are okay to part with this, I will take it for the auction, and may bid on it myself. I will send someone to pick this up for next week." She said as she looked at the very tip of the sword.

Karai nodded. "If that is all, I have some important business to attend."

"There is one more matter, a personal matter if you will." She said as she handed back the sword. She watched Karai's face turn to confusion tinged with impatience. "I could threaten you I suppose, but I know my threats would not carry any weight. I am out gunned and out classed when it comes to your world Ms Saki, and let's be honest, I can't do anything in this dress or with these heels, but know this; I protect what is mine, and I believe, you have taken what is mine." She said in a low voice filled with cold warning.

Karai's eyes widened in surprise, but she was a smart woman, she connected the dots rather quickly.

Katherine could see Karai mentally reviewing her options. While she watched Karai do this, Katherine asked, "Why have you taken them?" She asked. "You were supposed to have a truce, so I know something happened to jeopardize your uneasy alliance. I know you are a woman of honour Karai, so what happened?"

Karai's eyes narrowed. "Where are the other two turtles?" She asked suspiciously.

"Waiting. I told them to stay outside. I'm not a fighter, I am no threat to you. But I want Leonardo and Raphael back. So I ask again, what has happened that you feel the need to break your truce?" She questioned.

"How do I know what you say is true?" Karai asked, ignoring her question. "The other two turtles could be, at this moment, infiltrating my tower." She said as she pointed the sword at her throat.

"Donatello, where are you?" She questioned.

"Outside with the truck." He answered promptly.

"They are around the corner of the building to the south about a block away. You can have your men check and verify this information if you wish."

"Why would you reveal this information to me? Karai questioned.

"Because you asked. I find honesty is best, you never have to remember your lies. And I am showing you an amount of faith that you will check their position, but will leave them alone." She said.

"I could go out and attack them, bring them here and then I will have all four in my possession. What is to stop me from doing this?" Karai asked her.

She shrugged, "Nothing. You could do that if you wanted. I can't stop you. But I am hoping that you will instead just tell me what went wrong."

Karai motioned with her hand. The shadows around her began to move. A black clad man bowed in front of Karai. "Go, check the turtle's position, but do not move upon them until I give you the order." Karai said to the man who nodded and appeared to vanish.

Karai frowned at her. "You were not surprised." She said in shock. "Did you know they were there?"

"I did. They may be able to blend in with the shadows, but people can never _be_ shadow. Their bodies are too dense." She said with a shrug.

"Interesting." Karai said thoughtfully.

Katherine shrugged.

"Leonardo killed Hun, which has caused me a certain amount of grief. He knew that if Hun fell, my empire would begin to crumble. He and his brother came here tonight to bring me to my knees."

Katherine frowned in thought. "Was Hun a friend of yours?" Katherine asked in a carefully neutral voice.

"He was a business associate. I cared nothing for him personally, but he helped me keep the gangs of New York under control."

"And now that Hun is gone, the gangs have been unruly?" She asked.

"Worse. The gangs have all begun to fall under a crime syndicate from Chicago, led by a man called 'The Face'. No one knows who he is. He could be anyone, or I suppose any woman." Karai said suspiciously.

"I am not 'the Face'. I have never been to Chicago, nor do I have any ties there. I am sure you have ways of verifying that sort of information." She said to Karai.

Karai frowned and nodded. She looked as if she was listening to someone and probably had an earpiece in her ear as well.

"Your information is accurate." Karai said with a curt nod.

"But Leonardo did not kill Hun." Katherine said softly.

"I do not believe you. Hun was killed with a bladed weapon. Besides my ninja, there are few who would have been able to bring Hun to his knees. I will even admit that my ninja would have had difficulty orchestrating Hun's death. But according to rumour, the turtles were involved in his death. I refuse to be swayed by tales of ghosts."

"They were involved, but Leonardo did not kill Hun, I did." She said softly.

Karai's eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. "You lie. I have seen how you handled this sword. It is obvious that whoever killed Hun did so with skill. You have had training with a sword, I will acknowledge that, but you could not have killed Hun with one."

"You're right. I can't handle a sword, but I didn't kill Hun with a sword." She replied softly. "I shot him."

"Now I know you lie. I have the coroner's report. I know Hun's exact injuries."

"So do I, because I inflicted every last one. I can prove it, if you have a bow, arrows, and a training dummy." She said.

Karai studied her for a moment. "Why would you kill Hun?" She asked.

Katherine thought of Hun. Fear, pain, horror, and helplessness all mixed together to form a pulsing ball that sat in her stomach and attempted to overwhelm her mind. Katherine grabbed every emotion that attempted to riot through her at that moment, and jammed them hard into a box. She needed to focus on getting Leonardo and Raphael out of here alive, not dwell on the past.

Katherine reached into the calm, dead, emotionless pit that was left after she had taken all of her emotions away. It was from this pit that she had gained the strength to survive the torture that Hun inflicted and not break. It was from this pit that she was able to gain the calm rationality that had enabled her to fake her own death at the hands of Hun's man, Frank. It was from this deep dark place that she had gained the strength of will to pull back the string and arrow and take the final shot that took Hun's life.

She looked at Karai with these eyes, and she wasn't sure what Karai saw, but whatever it was made Karai take notice and reassess her, again. "I killed Hun because he was about to kill Leonardo, and I protect what is mine."

Karai nodded slowly. "Prove to me your role in Hun's death."

"And if I do?" She asked.

"Then I will think about letting the turtles go."

"Fine." She said to her.

Karai motioned to a sliding door with her sword. "Through that door."

Katherine walked to the door and slid it open. She could feel Karai close behind her, her sword ready in case she made any sudden moves.

Ahead of her was a long narrow hallway which led to a wider space with a double set of sliding doors. She opened the double doors revealing a training room of sorts with an assortment of weapons, practice dummies, weights, punching bags, and other equipment.

Her eyes sought out and found both Leonardo and Raphael, each suspended from the ceiling by a length of rope.

"Katherine!" Raphael yelled in shocked horror.

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><p><strong>Thoughts? Opinions? Is everyone enjoying the story so far?<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**A big thank you to Kaaayyytteee and chibiwolf33 for your wonderful reviews!**

**I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, it gave me more problems than I thougth it would.=S**

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><p><span>Chapter 5<span>

**Leonardo's** left arm and shoulder were burnign in pain. It was not taking the strain of having most of his body weight hanging from it. He had hoped that his shoulder would be healed by now, but it didn't seem to be getting any better. He tied to lessen the weight, but is was no use. He was just barely able to touch the floor and moving around only caused him to spin.

He puffed out an irritated breath and tried to ignore the pain. He turned his attention back to the double doors which were suddenly opened, revealing Katherine, dressed in a form fitting little black dress and high heels. Karai followed close behind her, a sword levelled at her spine.

"Katherine!" Raphael yelled in horror.

Leonardo swallowed the lump of dread and fear that crawled up his throat. Katherine did not need to be dragged into whatever mess this was. She had already suffered enough and she was finally just recovering for the mental trauma that had been inflicted on her. "Let her go Karai." His voice pleaded. "Kill me, but let Raph and Katherine go. Please." He said, his voice breaking with emotion

Katherine gave them a quick glance. No emotion played on her face. Whatever she was feeling, she wasn't sharing.

"How touching Leonardo, very self sacrificing of you." Karai said as she motioned to the far wall with her sword.

Katherine strode purposefully to where Karai had indicated with her sword. Her heels clicked on the wooden floor as she approached the far wall, which was lined with various types of weapondry. Katherine took down a bow and a quiver of arrows. She walked to the center of the room, ignoring him and his brother completely.

"What the hell do you think you are doing Karai!" Raphael growled angrily.

"She claims to have killed Hun, so I am letting her prove your innocence." Karai said with a smile as Katherine pulled off her high heeled shoes.

"Katherine, No!" He shouted at her. He did not want Karai to kill Katherine.

Katherine ignored him as she looked across the room at a hard, foam training dummy. She pulled the quiver over her shoulder and pulled an arrow from the quiver, smoothly notching it on the string. She drew back the bow string and aimed it at the dummy. "First I cut his cheek." She said as she let the string go, the arrow slicing the dummy across his left cheek. "Then his arm." Another arrow was quickly notched and released, accurately slicing the dummy's forearm. Three more arrows were notched and released slicing the dummy in the shoulder, the chest and his right arm. Always leaving nothing more than a shallow, non fatal, cut. "Then his leg." The arrow sliced through the foam flesh easily. "I was trying to warn him. I was trying to get him to run, retreat, anything but stay and continue what he was doing. He chose to ignore my warnings. He chose instead to attempt to take Leonardo's life with a gun. My final shot severed Hun's jugular vein. He bled to death within minutes, if not sooner." Katherine notched another arrow and quickly fired it, the arrow cleanly slicing the side of the dummy's neck.

Katherine lowered her bow and looked at Karai. Karai walked over to the dummy and assessed its injuries. "Very clever. The injuries look to have been inflicted using a bladed weapon. I would imagine that in the dark, it would have looked as if a ghost was slicing away at Hun" Karai said thoughtfully as she studied Katherine.

Katherine shrugged. "I suppose the fact that they thought they had killed me and buried me only added to that particular illusion." Katherine said in an emotionless voice.

Karai frowned slightly as she looked at Katherine. "So it was you who killed Hun."

"Katherine, please!" Leonardo begged. He could never bear it if she was killed because she had killed Hun to save his life. The only reason Katherine had killed Hun was because of him. She hadn't even wanted Hun dead for what he put her through. It was because she chose to save him, that Katherine had taken Hun's life.

"Yes." Katherine said with a nod.

"You handle that weapon incredibly well." Karai observed.

"I do. In some of the places I travelled with my uncle, there was no food but what you managed to find and catch. Starvation is a good motivator." She replied bluntly.

"You know where I have the turtles, and you have in your possession, a weapon that could kill me faster than I could kill you." Karai observed. "You may not be able to fight, but you have managed to manoeuvre yourself into a position where you _almost _hold the upper hand." Karai said thoughtfully.

"Yes." Katherine said without emotion.

"I could however have my men kill the other two turtles waiting outside." Karai said threateningly.

Katherine shrugged. "You'd still be dead." Katherine answered. There was no threat in her voice, just a clear statement of facts.

The two women stared at each other for a few moments. "I do not think I should like to cross you Miss Brooks." Karai said with a bow.

Katherine bowed in return. "So we can all leave?" Katherine questioned. "Alive."

Karai straightened and gave a slight smile. "It seems to be the most prudent option."

"Thank you." Katherine said with a nod.

Katherine walked over to the wall and placed the bow back in its slot. "What will happen if 'The Face' manages to destroy your empire?" She asked softly.

Karai frowned. "I do not look forward to either defeat or death, but I suppose your question pertains to the city, as opposed to me personally."

"Yes."

"What are you doing?" Raphael growled at Katherine. "Karai said we can go, so get us out of here so we can leave."

Both women ignored Raphael. "If Chicago is the future model of New York, crime with double, murder rates will skyrocket, and many innocents will begin to be caught up in the crossfire of a city owned by criminals." Karai informed her bluntly.

"I take it you don't buy your way into the pockets of the mayor, judges and police?"

"Not as such. I attempt to gain trust and influence through charitable donations and foundations. I keep those who would do harm to innocents out of the way, sometimes in an unfortunately permanent manner." Karai said evenly.

Katherine frowned in thought. "I would assume then that besides you, the...turtles," Katherine paused at her use of Karai's name for them. "Will be number one on this mystery guy's hit list." Katherine said motioning to him and Raphael.

"Most definitely. In fact, I would be surprised if they were not taken out before even I was." Karai said with a nod.

"I suppose, when one must choose between the Devil you know, and the one you do not, I would prefer the one I know." Katherine said.

Karai frowned in confusion. "Are you offering to help me?" She questioned.

"Katherine, what are you doing?" Leonardo asked. He did not want Katherine to be caught up in the middle of a gang war, she was in too deep already, just by knowing them.

Katherine ignored him. "You cannot fight an enemy you do not know, so we shall make him known." Katherine said evenly.

"Why are you offering to help me? I was going to kill them." Karai said suspiciously.

Katherine smiled, but it was not a friendly smile. "Do not mistake my intentions Ms Saki."

Karai nodded slowly. "I will not." She said as she bowed. "I shall release them." Karai said walking over to them with her sword.

"Just a moment," Katherine said as she held out her hand. She put her shoes back on and walked to stand in front of them.

Leonardo met her eyes and he had never before seen her eyes the colour they were at the moment. The golden flecks that surrounded her pupils stood out starkly against green eyes the colour of pale leaves.

"Kath...?" Raphael asked as her eyes flicked to his brother. Raphael shut his mouth and swallowed.

"I will deal with you in a moment Raphael." Katherine said, her voice holding all the warmth and pleasantness of the arctic.

Leonardo's eyes widened as he realized that he had gotten used to seeing Katherine emotionally open and vulnerable, but at this moment there was nothing emotional or vulnerable about her. It was as if the walls that had crumbled under the trauma of Hun's torture and death, had been rebuilt, leaving her completely closed off from him. But she hadn't shut down, in fact if he were to guess, he would say that Katharine was furious. And at the moment, all of that cold fury was directed right at him.

"I do not need you to protect me, and I do not appreciate you keeping things from me." She said, her voice becoming softer and colder with each word.

"I know." He said softly. "But we didn't want to trouble you if the Purple Dragons had no interest in revenge. You've only just..." He broke off this thought as Katherine's eyes narrowed dangerously. He realized that it would be a mistake to tell her that she had just recovered from what Hun had done to her. Katherine stared at him as he willed her with his eyes to understand that he was only trying to protect her.

"And if you had found that the Purple Dragons did indeed have plans to harm me, would you have told me, or kept me ignorant?" She asked.

Leonardo closed his eyes. He was tempted to tell her that he was unsure, or that he would never keep her in the dark, but he couldn't lie to her. It wouldn't matter anyway, she would know his lie the moment it left his lips.

"I see." She said, not even waiting for his reply. His silence was all she needed. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Raphael?" She questioned as she looked at his brother.

Raphael remained silent, his eyes no longer meeting hers.

"Cut them down Ms Saki. We will be in touch. Donatello, we are done here." Katherine said as she touched her ear and walked towards the double doors to leave the room.

Karai cut their ropes and Leonardo gratefully massaged feeling and blood back into his hands. He then moved up and massaged his left arm and shoulder, trying not to wince in pain.

"I do apologize Leonardo." Karai said with a bow. "You can understand my anger at what I had thought was your betrayal."

"We get it Karai, we ain't friends." Raphael said angrily. "We just don't try to kill each other anymore and stay out of each other's business."

Karai frowned thoughtfully and looked over her shoulder at Katherine's retreating back. "She is a dangerous woman Leonardo." Karai said, turning her attention back to him.

"She ain't dangerous." Raphael protested in a low growl.

Karai flicked her eyes to his brother and back to himself. "Most people tend to be predictable. However, people who have no regard for self preservation are not. That is what makes her dangerous. I believe if I attempted to harm or kill you again, I would be dead before I could even finish the thought, let alone the action."

Raphael snorted. "You don't know nothin' Karai." Raphael growled.

"I think you are in way over your head Leonardo." Karai observed as he and his brother began following Katherine from the room.

Leonardo looked over his shoulder at his former enemy. "Goodbye Karai. Don't ever threaten my family again."

Karai gave him a slightly malicious half smile. "I am more frightened of her than I am of you Leonardo. You would never kill me, she would. In fact, I believe I was a hairs breadth away from death tonight."

Raphael slid the double doors closed. "Man I hate that woman." He growled.

Leonardo strode down the hallway, looking for the elevator doors. Of Katherine, there was no sign.

They found the elevator and walked inside, Raphael hitting the button for the lobby.

"Kitten is pissed." Raphael said rubbing his face.

"Yes, she is." He agreed.

"You think she's going to be able to forgive us?" Raphael asked in a tired voice.

Leonardo sighed. "I don't know Raph. Karai is right about one thing though, Katherine is unpredictable. I never know what she is thinking or what she is going to do in any situation."

Raphael nodded and rubbed his wrists."Kitten is either incredibly smart or insane. I haven't figured out which yet. I mean, she came into the Foot's headquarters to confront Karai, who is the head of one of the biggest crime syndicates in New York. She came alone, unarmed, no fighting ability, nothin'. Just a little black dress and a pair of heels, and somehow, she managed to get us out of there alive. She got the upper hand on Karai because she gave Kitten the only weapon she could use." Raphael said with an incredulous shake of his head.

"I wonder if Katherine would have had another plan if the one she had in mind, failed." He asked.

"I'd be more curious to know if she actually_ had_ a plan going in, or if she was just winging it." Raphael paused in thought. "Knowing Katherine, I'm gonna bet winging it. Which pisses me off! She could have been hurt, or killed!" He growled.

"Yes, she could have." Leonardo mumbled, his mind thinking furiously. "Do you think Karai is right? Do you think that Katherine has no sense of self preservation?"

Raphael looked at him seriously. "Yeah, I think Karai's right." He said softly.

Leonardo nodded, not wanting to contemplate the ramifications of this particular observation as the elevator opened, revealing the spacious glass and black marble lobby, guarded by a hired thug who was giving Katherine her a coat and purse.

They stepped from the elevator as Katherine walked out the doors of the building.

Raphael frowned. "Hey Leo, does Kitten look," He tipped his head to the side. "I don't know, a little extra curvy to you?"

He flicked a glance at his brother. "It's the dress Raph. When have we ever seen Katherine dressed up?" He asked as he pushed open the outer door and walked into the night. He saw Katherine walk around the corner of the building.

"Kitten in that dress makes me want to get her dressed up, just so I can peel her out of it."

Leonardo looked at his brother and raised an eye ridge.

"I can't help it Leo. It's been a week since I've had sex with her." Raphael complained.

"I know." Leonardo agreed. Leonardo missed the sex, but it was more than that. He missed being able to touch her, hold her, kiss her, and just be with her. Ever since they had broken up, Katherine had managed to build a wall between them. He felt as if she was shutting them out.

Raphael stopped and Leonardo looked at him in question. "You realize that we can never take her anywhere where she would actually ever be able to dress up." Raphael said softly.

"Yeah Raph, I do." He replied quietly.

"So that rich guy gets to take her out and we can't." Raphael said clenching his fists together angrily. "I wanna know how much that guy paid to go on this date with Kitten."

Leonardo sighed. "$500,000."

"W-what?" Raphael exclaimed in shock.

"And trust me Raph, you do not want to see the photo her uncle used."

"This guy dropped half a mil to go on a date with Kitten?" He asked incredulous. "Leo, how the hell are we supposed to compete with that?"

"We can't Raph." Leonardo answered softly.

Raphael growled low in his throat as he strode down the sidewalk. "Where the hell are Mikey and Donny?" He said as he looked around. "They were supposed to be protectin her, not lettin her come here and..." Raphael stopped dead as he turned the corner.

Leonardo looked around his brother and saw Katherine pushing Michelangelo and Donatello away. "You two need to back off." Katherine said in irritation to Michelangelo and Donatello.

"Kitten..."Donatello protested, a headset over his ears.

Leonardo realized that Donatello had at least been listening to Katherine as seh had walked into Karai's building.

Raphael quickly strode to Katherine, concern written on his face.

"Donatello, I just had to kill Hun...again, so excuse me if I am not feeling very good at the moment." Katherine said as she leaned against the building, closing her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. Raphael reached out to touch her shoulder, but she opened her eyes and flinched away.

"Kitten." Raphael said softly as he let his hand drop. "You shouldn't have come, you could have been hurt, or worse, killed."

Katherine turned her head and looked at Raphael. There was a fierceness in her eyes that made Leonardo pause as he stepped close to her. Even in the dark, Leonardo could see Katherine's eyes begin to lighten, but there was a hint of blue in her eyes as she looked from Raphael to himself and back again.

Leonardo swallowed in apprehension.

Katherine took a steadying breath. "There is a gang that is attempting to take over all of the gangs of New York." She began softly. Her tone so low Leonardo strained to hear her. "You guys need to figure out who this guy is and stop him."

Leonardo's eye ridges rose in surprise.

She held out her hand. "Keys." She said.

They all exchanged a look between themselves. Leonardo dug Katherine's keys out of his pocket. "I don't think you should drive Katherine." He said to her.

"I appreciate your concern." She said as she snatched her keys away. She pushed the button and listened for the beep of the doors being unlocked. "You four need to stay here, protect the city, and find out anything you can about 'The Face' and his gang." Katherine said quietly as she began walking away.

"Katherine wait!" He protested as fear and grief began to clutch at his heart. The woman he loved was walking away from him. And even though he knew she was better off if she walked out of his life forever, because it was their fault that Katherine had been placed in danger...again, a selfish part of him didn't want to let her.

"Some things are more important." Katherine said as she continued to walk away. "I hope your arm feels better soon Leonardo." She said softly.

"Did you have a plan?" Raphael's choked voice asked Katherine's retreating back.

Katherine stopped and looked over her shoulder at them. "My plan was to get inside to see Karai." Katherine answered.

"And then?" Raphael insisted.

Katherine shrugged as turned her head and began walking. "Goodnight." She stopped at her car, got in , started it, and drove away without a second glance.

Raphael let out a roar of anger filled grief as he kicked a garbage can across the road.

"What do we do now Leo?" Michelangelo asked in a soft, hurt voice.

Leonardo tried to block out the pain in his heart. "We find out who 'The Face' is." He replied softly.

"I mean about Kitten?" Michelangelo said, his voice hitching slightly.

"We leave her alone Mikey." Leonardo said closing his eyes. Leonardo took a deep calming breath and opened his eyes.

Donatello was looking down the street where Katherine's SUV had disappeared. He had a thoughtful expression on his face, as if he was trying to figure something out.

"Donny?" He asked his brother.

Donatello looked at him in question. "Sorry Leo, I just..." He frowned. "I don't know...Just get in the truck"

Leonardo nodded. "It's time to go home." He said softly.

They jumped into the truck. Donatello began fiddling with a transceiver. "You smart, smart girl." Donatello said with a smile as he listened into the headset intently. Leonardo pulled away from the curb and glanced at his younger brother in the rear view mirror. "Listen." He said as he put the device on speaker.

_"Well?" _Kari's voice asked from the device.

_"They separated and left. The woman got into her own vehicle and drove out of the city. The turtles got into their truck and drove in a different direction."_A man's voice said.

_"What were their interactions like when they left the building?"_ Karai's voice asked.

"_Cool, and distant. The orange and purple ones tried to touch her and she yelled at them. The red one tried to touch her shoulder and she avoided him. Their voices were too low to hear, but there did not seem to be any affection on her part, and perhaps a certain amount of concern on theirs. The red one did get angry when the woman drove off though_."

"_That will be all_." She said.

There was a few minutes of silence and Leonardo thought that Karai was through talking, until he heard her voice again.

"_Well, what do you think_?" Karai's voice asked. "_I had for a brief moment wondered if there was some sort of romantic relationship between Leonardo and Katherine, but Leonardo is protective by nature, so offering himself up as a lamb to slaughter was not an unusual action."_

If someone answered Karai they could not hear. Karai continued, "_If Katherine had felt anything for them, I would have thought that she would have made some indication one way or the other that she was upset with the situation, but she barely spared them a glance when she walked into the room. She even let them hang there for a few more moments while she expressed her displeasure. I will admit that the turtles seemed to feel some sort of attachment, however, it did not seem that the feeling was reciprocated. Though she did claim that they were hers, but perhaps it is more in the feudal sense. After all, since the rat has died they had been without an anchor of sorts. Perhaps Katherine has filled this role or is their new Master."_ Karai paused and then continued._ "Their actions are too confusing, I cannot seem to grasp the type of relationship they have." _Karai was silent for a moment as if she were listening to someone_. _

_ "Regardless, I would rather have her and the turtles on my side." _Karai said.

The transceiver went silent. "She bugged Karai!" Donatello said with a smile. "And she figured out that the foot would still be watching us. She must have slipped the earpiece I gave her into something, or somewhere. I had wondered why she sounded so far away. Wherever she slipped it, it must be very near Karai's person. Now we will know, for the most part, what Karai is up to."

"That's great Donny," Michelangelo began softly. "But...is Kitten actually okay?" Michelangelo asked in a worried voice.

"Mikey's right." Raphael said softly from the passenger seat. "Kitten put on a great show in there, but she wasn't looking so good when she walked away."

They all looked at Donatello with worried eyes.

Donatello lost his smile and sighed. "I don't know." He said with a shake of his head. "But...Either she believes she can handle it on her own, or..." Donatello left his sentence to hang, not wanting to finish the thought.

Leonardo looked at his hands which were tightly clenched around the steering wheel. "Or she doesn't want anything to do with us anymore." He said in a choked voice. "She's still angry with all of us, because for hiding teh truth from her. We don't know if she will ever want to see or talk to any of us ever again." He said with a grief choked voice.

* * *

><p><strong>Ooooooo, things are starting to get messy!<strong>

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcomed!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alrighty all, a big thank you to D'Fuentes, Kaaayyytteee and cibiwolf33 for your awesome reveiws! And a big giant thank you to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter.=)**

**And now, on with the show!**

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><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

**Katherine** made it halfway home before she had to pull over to the side of the road. She got out of her SUV and stared up at the stars. She didn't know if she should scream, cry or puke, but all three sensations were fighting for her attention. She tried to block out the sight of Hun's final moments, and the surprised confusion that had rolled across his face before he had fallen to the ground in a lifeless heap. She closed her eyes, fighting down the need to be sick and instead focusing on the other two emotions that were fighting for dominance. Anger was beginning to win, and that was okay. Anger she could deal with, tears she couldn't.

She opened her eyes and clenched her hand in anger, as a wave of betrayal rolled through her. If there was anything breakable nearby, she may have given into the urge to break, throw, and scream in rage. As there was nothing to vent her anger on, she closed her eyes and tried to dampen the rage.

She turned her chaotic thoughts over in her head, and looked at the situation logically. She felt betrayed, but knew that the word was too strong. She was upset that all of the brothers had lied to her about what Raphael and Leonardo were really doing back in New York. At the same time, she knew that they were all trying to protect her, which though stifling, was warranted. They believed her mind to still be broken and vulnerable at the moment. And even though her nightmares had stopped, she could acknowledge that she wasn't completely better yet. But his fact only made her more determined to fix herself. She had done it once, she could do it again.

She climbed back into the SUV. She leaned her head back against the seat's head rest and took a deep steadying breath. She ran a hand through her hair and let go of her anger. It wasn't a helpful emotion. She reviewed the events of the evening in her head.

Tonight, she had been terrified. Katherine wasn't stupid. She knew that the brothers were only as strong as their weakest link, and that was her.

She had gone into Karai's building with nothing but hope and a prayer, and not even the last one. And somehow, she had managed to have everyone walk away unscathed. She had not wanted Karai to know of her relationship with all of the brother's, and especially not her love for Leonardo and Raphael. She believed that if Karai knew that she loved Leonardo and Raphael, Karai would have held the upper hand, even as Katherine held the bow in hers. Love could be as much a strength as a weakness, and she knew that Karai would have taken advantage of that in a heartbeat.

Katherine let out a sigh and rubbed her face. She had been so tempted to just kill Karai and walk away. One less problem to possibly have to deal with later if Karai decided it would be in her best interest to kill them. And in that cold dark place she had placed herself in so that she could calmly confront Karai, it was such an easy option. But if she had done that, she wouldn't have liked who she had become, because then, she would have become a killer. And she still liked to think that she was not a killer.

She put the SUV into drive, and pulled back onto the road.

She had a lot of work to do. For one thing she needed to find out what Karai was going to put into the silent auction instead of the sword. Katherine figured that Karai would keep the sword now that she knew that Katherine herself was going to bid on it. Which is why she had slipped the thin earpiece that Donatello given her into the ties that wrapped around the scabbard of the sword. At least this way they would know if Karai was more friend or foe.

She restrained a groan as she realized she now had to plan a society event _and_ try to find out who 'The Face' was...By herself. Because the brothers would never let her help them. She had been dragged into their dangerous world again, and she knew that they would never want risk her being dragged in a third time. So she had walked away. It was for the best. And truthfully, she was still too angry to even speak or be around any of them at the moment. Besides, she knew that walking away was the only way that she could help them find out who 'The Face' was. They needed to be focused on their task, not worrying about her. It didn't matter that the thought of being away from Leonardo and Raphael filled her heart with so much grief that it threatened to overwhelm her and tempting her to give into the tears that threatened to fall.

She fought back the tears and turned her mind back to the problem at hand. She wasn't going to think of 'The Face' as a faceless criminal, but as more of an urban legend. She was going to take all of the rumours that surrounded 'The Face', and try to weed out the ones that were true, and the ones that were not. She needed to strip 'The Face' down to his or her, humble beginnings. Much like a folklorist would attempt to find the original version of Little Red Riding Hood, before the Grimm brothers got a hold of it.

She pulled into the driveway and walked up to the house. She walked inside and passed her mother on the way.

"Where are your friends dear?" Her mother asked her.

"They went home." She answered in a steady voice. _Iwillnotcry, Iwillnotcry,_ She repeated to herself over and over as she ran upstairs to her room.

She closed her door and fell down on her bed. She kicked off the high heels and sat up. She shuffled off the bed and peeled herself out of her mother's dress. She let the fabric pool to the floor. She crawled into bed, curled up and fell asleep. Her last thoughts filled with determination to heal her mind, so that she would be able to protect the men she loved.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> looked in the mirror as she applied the rest of her makeup. She was wearing an empire waist, floor length, white gown. It draped beautifully around her figure, putting her much in mind of the dress a Greek goddesses would wear. Of course, this dress had graced a goddess of the big screen, mainly her mother. And she figured that by tomorrow the tabloids would catch onto that fact right away, and plaster a 'who wore it better?' poll on the front page, but she didn't care. She gave herself a final onceover, patted a curl back into place in her simple up-do, and pronounced herself ready for her 'date.'

She grabbed her clutch, coat, and scarf, and made her way downstairs. Thankfully her mother had left to go back to her TV movie shoot, so she didn't have to worry about her poking and prying into her love life.

Her cell phone rang as she got to the door. She pulled it out of her clutch and saw Michelangelo's number on the screen. If she could have, she would have smiled. Leonardo and Raphael must have realized that she wasn't answering their phone calls and had made Michelangelo call on the off chance that she would accept a phone call from him. She hit ignore and put her phone back in her clutch. She wasn't talking to any of them, not until she was closer to figuring out who 'The Face' actually was.

She walked out the front door to the awaiting limo. She was going to meet Barry at the function. She did not want to give him the impression that she was in any way actually going on a real date that may include her being driven back to his place at the end of the night.

The limo pulled away, and she contemplated everything she had learned about 'The Face.' She had used her own resources on the internet as well as contacted Karai to gain pertinent information.

Karai had been quite surprised that she had actually called, and had tried to apologize for the earlier 'misunderstanding'. And although she did feel that the apology was sincere, she wasn't ready to cry friends with Karai just yet.

But she had gained some interesting information from Karai. She had learned that he, (She had begun to think of him as a 'he' for simplicity's sake, though she was still open to the possibility that 'The Face' was a woman.) had appeared in Chicago around 20 years ago. So he wasn't a new player on the board as it were. And according to Karai, 20 to 40 people had been de-faced. However Katherine had found that there was in fact, only one person who had suffered this fate, and he had to be identified through dental records. But after this horrific attack, rumours of more and more de-facings had surfaced, and after all, why let the facts get in the way of a good story? And so the shadowy figure of 'The Face', had emerged to take over Chicago, one street gang at a time. However the actual identity of this ringleader was unknown. Of course there was also a rumour that 'The Face's' identity was only known to a few and that he operated through many subordinates and was himself masked because his own face was so deformed that he could not let any look upon him. (This apparently being the motive for him removing the caces of others.) This rumour she discounted. Instead, she believed that 'The Face' was either a very paranoid individual, or was someone who was actually in the public spotlight to a certain extent. Nameless thugs liked it better if their names were know to the general underworld, it gave them more influence and power. Hiding was never good for moral and business.

There had however been a string of persons admitted to the ER in Chicago with their tongues cut out within the last 6 years. They were trying to blame it on a gang called the Red Bandits, but according to Karai, this did not ring true, as the Red Bandits were a small gang made up of mostly teenagers who tended to deal in small time drug deals. So, Katherine wasn't going to discount this as an anomaly, but rather, somehting that was part of a greater pattern.

So, breaking everything down she knew that 'The Face' had to be, at the very least, in his 40's or 50's, and did not in fact go around de-facing people. He was probably a public official or a person who ran with that particular crowd. He had managed to get a stranglehold on all of the Chicago gangs so that in order to operate they needed to pay a certain amount of 'protection' money to him, but otherwise 'The Face' let the gangs run rampant through Chicago's windy streets.

Which begged the question: Why? Why would 'The Face' bother to strike New York? Katherine knew that criminals always wanted to expand their empires, more money, more power etc, ect, but something felt off. A takeover required men, money and drive. So if 'The Face' had been around for 20 years, why would he decide to take over New York Now? There were plenty of other populated areas that were not controlled by one of the most powerful crime syndicates of the world. Katherine had done her homework on Karai, as well as her organization, and had learned that Karai's empire was large and mostly stable since she had taken it over from her father Oroku Saki A.K.A The Shredder. But that had been 6 years ago, so the question was, would Hun's death be inducement enough for 'The Face' to expand to New York?

Katherine let out a sigh. She had more questions than answers, though she did have a plan. She had talked to Karai because she had needed to older woman's help, but she had not divulged the entirety of her plan. Katherine knew Karai was not going to give up her father's sword, but was going to substitute it for another. Katherine had agreed to the switch, but had suggested that perhaps Karai should make a public display with a symbol of her Father's empire. If 'The Face' was in New York, perhaps this reminder of the power and connections of the Saki family, would give 'The Face' pause.

Karai had agreed to put her Father's helmet and clawed gauntlet on display, but not up for auction. Katherine hoped that if 'The Face' or his minions were watching, that he would either turn tail and run, or at least reveal himself to a certain extent. Or perhaps even reveal his motivation and reasons for choosing to move into New York.

* * *

><p><strong>Michelangelo<strong> looked at his phone in dismay. Katherine had not been answering his brother's calls, and so they had asked him to call Katherine, and she had ignored him.

He sighed and tucked his phone back into his pants. "She's not answering her phone." He told his brothers. Raphael looked at him with a devastated look that was quickly masked by one of anger. Leonardo had a resigned look on his face, as if he hadn't expected anything different.

"Grab Donny, let's go." Raphael said as he strode off towards the truck.

"Raph." Michelangelo protested.

"You don't have to come Mikey, but I'm goin." Raphael growled as he jumped into the truck.

"But the event isn't for another 2 hours!" He protested.

He looked at his oldest brother who turned and began walking to the truck. "I need to make sure she's okay. I promised her mother that much." Leonardo said softly as he strode around to the other side of the truck and hopped into the passenger side.

Michelangelo felt his shoulders slump as he walked into Donatello's lab.

Donatello was intently listening to Karai FM. At least that was what he called it. Donatello pulled the headset off and stood.

"Raph and Leo are already in the truck." He said as he pointed a thumb out the door.

Donatello gave a nod.

"Anything of interest on Karai FM?" He asked.

Donatello shook his head. "Unless you care that her dress has been changed three times, then...no. Though I am interested to find out what it is that Karai is anonymously putting on display for the night. She keeps saying that it is being put there, but won't actually say what the item is. Though I do know that Karai isn't donating the sword that Kitten attached the hearing device to." Donatello pointed out.

Michelangelo gave a half hearted nod.

"Kitten didn't answer her phone?" Donatello asked softly.

Michelangelo shook his head.

"How are Raph and Leo?" Donatello asked even more quietly.

"Torn apart." He said with a shake of his head. "Leo's accepted that Kitten doesn't want anything to do with him, but Raph will fight for her if he gets the chance. But Raph is about to snap. I don't know if it's a good idea to let Raph go. If Raph sees Kitten with this guy, he's either going to lose it or break. And I don't know which is worse. Raph angry I can handle, Raph in a devastated state of broken hearted grief, I can't." Michelangelo said softly.

Donatello looked at him grimly and nodded.

* * *

><p><strong>Michelangelo<strong> looked out from the rooftop to the limo that pulled up to the entrance of the museum. "Raph, do you realize how wrong this is?" He asked his brother who was crouched beside him, every line of his body betraying his anger. "You are stalking your ex-girlfriend. There are laws against that you know." He pointed out.

His brother's eyes flicked to his when he had ascertained that the couple who had exited from the limo was not Katherine and her 'date'.

"Shut up Mikey." Raphael growled.

"Just sayin'." He said with as his attention was caught by Katherine exiting a black limo. She was wearing white, and from what he could see, looked stunning.

A man strode down the steps and took her hand, leaning in and whispering in her ear.

Michelangelo could hear his brother's teeth beginning to grind together. "Donny, she's here." Michelangelo said into his headset.

"Alright, Leo wants everyone to take up their positions." Donatello said into his ear.

"I don't see why I have to stay here." Raphael growled.

"Raph, be honest, do you really want to watch Katherine and this guy's date?" He asked his brother quietly.

Raphael let out a huff. "No." He said quietly.

"I'll tell you if anything is going on okay?" He said as he clapped his brother on the back. "Now put your headset on." He said as he vanished over the side of the building to get a better view of the dinner. He was going to remain outside, but he was going to have a bird's eye view as he watched the diners through the museum's skylight.

Leonardo had stationed himself on the roof of an adjacent building to the North of the Museum, Raphael being stationed on an adjacent rooftop to the South of the Museum. Donatello was going to position himself inside the museum in the room where they would be holding the auction later after the dinner.

Michelangelo confirmed with his brothers that they were in position as he hunkered down and watched Katherine.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> smiled at Barry Milton. They were sitting at a round table with 8 other guests so Katherine felt it less of a date and more of a big get together. Various other people had come up and talked to her during the evening, so she had had almost no time to actually talk with Barry.

The salad appetizer had been served after she and various other personages had expressed gratitude and heartfelt thanks for their support of the Museum. And now they were on to the main course. She looked at the Chicken Roulade and felt her stomach turn over. Just the smell was making her feel sick. She cut up the little chicken rolls and dug out whatever was rolled up in the center. She took a bite. It was prosciutto and a few different kinds of cheese. She could eat that and stay away from the chicken.

The woman beside her had just gotten up to use the powder room. She was a beautiful, blonde haired, brown eyed young woman three to four years her senior. Her name was Artemis Mason. On the other side of Barry was an older plump Matron by the name of Mrs. Banton, who wore an outrageous hat that Barry kept having to duck and weave around. However, thankfully for Barry as soon as the food had come she had desisted with the small talk and was concentrating on her very expensive, $500 a plate meal.

When she had had a chance to talk to Barry, she found him to be nice, friendly and charismatic. He had a nice smile and was funny as well as gentlemanly. Which somehow annoyed her because she knew he was just putting on an act. It wasn't that she didn't believe that he wasn't all of the things she had listed, but it was more that it was his society personality, as opposed to his real one.

She took up her wine glass and studied him.

"Do I have something on my face?" He asked her with a flirtatious grin, his blue eyes twinkling.

"No, but I am wondering when I get to meet the real Barry Milton." Katherine said as she took a small sip. He looked at her in surprise. "Please, you can't tell me that you actually care about the Museum, the auction, or high society in general. You smile, you smooze, but it is all for show. In fact, I would bet that you would rather be talking about hockey? Football? There we go. Perhaps fishing, you look like a fishing man to me. And I have no doubt that you are just bursting to talk about all of the work you have done overseas. But your mother taught you better than to talk politics, religion and war with a young lady. Please, tell me I am wrong." She said as she placed her glass down on the table, resisting the urge to wrinkle her nose at the taste of the wine.

Barry Milton blinked in shock and then smiled, a real smile this time. His charming facade dropped and Katherine was actually able to see the real man. The man who had, in his life, seen too much war, too much violence, too much grief and too much suffering. There was a weariness about his eyes, the wrinkles etching more deeply into his cheeks. And somehow, she liked him better for it. His eyes reminded her of honey and dark brown eyes that looked at her through red and blue masks.

"It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Barry Milton." She said as she held out her hand to him.

He took her hand and shook it. His grip was strong and firm, but then, so was hers. "You are not the kind of woman I excepted you to be. Though truthfully, I don't really know what I was expecting."

Katherine laughed. "You would be surprised to know how often I am told that." She said with a shake of her head. She reached out and took a sip of water. "So why did you put down half a million dollars for this date Mr. Milton? It seems to me to be a very hefty amount for someone who has no interest in the museum, and who can no doubt get laid for free."

Barry had just taken a sip of wine and had to choke it down or spit it out. He coughed a few times and she gently patted him on the back. "You are a very blunt woman." He said with surprise. His voice slipped for a moment into something resembling a southern drawl before evening out into a more west coast accent.

Katherine shrugged. "I find it faster to just ask what I want to know then have to try to politely find a way to ask by talking about boring inconsequential things."

Barry threw back his head and laughed. "A woman after my own heart. I never wanted to come here truthfully. Will you think less of me if I say that my mother made me do it?" He asked her.

Katherine laughed then. "Only if you don't think less of me for my Uncle putting a date with me up for bids in the first place."

"Fair enough." He said as he held out his glass. She held up her water glass and clinked it to his. "Though truthfully, I was curious. I remembered you from seven years ago in Tanzania." He said to her. Her eyes widened in shock as she studied him. She removed the years and put him in fatigues of some sort with a helmet and glasses. "I was 21 and my first trip overseas with my dad." He said as he took a sip of wine.

Katherine nodded. "I remember. When the police found me I was taken...somewhere. Eventually I was escorted by a bunch of men to an airport. You were in that group."

Barry smiled. "You were 14. I had no idea who you were. But Carin Wraith had hired my father's company to find you after you vanished. It was strange because you never said you were held hostage. No one ever said anything, but they had you, didn't they?" He asked.

Katherine pushed away her plate.

It was then Barry seemed to realize he thought he had said something that had upset her. She wasn't actually upset, but she couldn't stand the smell of the chicken. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." He began.

Katherine smiled at him. "It was a long time ago. They did take me." She said with a shrug. 'But I walked away. There are many who can't say the same thing." She said to him seriously.

"I'm still an ass." He said with a sheepish smile.

Katherine laughed. "So let me see you were 21 when I was 14, that makes you 28 and still single." She shook her head.

"Can you see why I am the despair of my mother? And you probably think I'm old." He said to her.

"Age is relative, though I could bug you for being a perv." She said with a joking smile. " But that reminds me, what does 'He is one of the Stanford Milton's' mean anyway?"

He groaned as he touched his forehead. "Our Family was originally from England. Very old money, very distinguished lineage. We came to America and our family helped to build and fund Stanford University. Anyway much of the family moved around here and there. Some moved south, others north. I am from the southern branch if you didn't quite catch the little bit of drawl. I spent a few years attending Stanford and have attempted to get rid of the twang."

Katherine nodded as Artemis Mason returned to her seat clumsily knocking over her glass. Katherine reached out and caught it before it fell.

Her brown eyes looked at her in shock. "Thank you so much." She breathed.

"No problem." Katherine said as Artemis turned her attention back to her date.

Katherine turned her attention back to Barry.

"So what are you doing after the Auction?" Barry asked her.

"I have to finish up things here after the auction is finished. Then I get to go home and sleep." She said with a chuckle. "And be thankful it is all over."

Barry laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>Michelangelo<strong> tried to ignore his brother as he watched the guests finish dinner and leave the room to begin the silent auction. "Do you see them Donny? They are headed your way."

"Nothing yet but I can hear them." Donatello's soft voice said into his headset.

"Mikey stop ignoring me and tell me what happened!" Raphael growled for hat Michelangelo was positive was the 20th time.

"Raph, they ate, they talked they laughed. Though Kitten really didn't eat much now that I think about it." Michelangelo said with a frown.

"Raphael, you are supposed to be watching for trouble." Leonardo's strained voice said over the headset.

"I'm watchin Leo, get off my ass. Mikey did it look like she was having fun, did she like this guy, what?" His brother asked desperately.

Michelangelo sighed. "Raph, I couldn't hear them, but yes Kitten looked like she was having a good time. And the guy looked like he was having fun too. But Raph Kitten is very polite, and you know how hard it is to tell what she is actually thinking and feeling." He said trying to soothe his agitated brother. "And Leo, Katherine and Karai have not spoken to each other yet. They haven't even acknowledged that they even know each other. But you know they will have to talk sometime, after all it would be rude if she didn't." Michelangelo said to his older brother.

"I've spotted her." Donatello said quietly. "She is making another speech and unveiling The Shredder's helmet and gauntlet!" Donatello's shocked voice said in his ear.

"What?" Leonardo said in shock.

"Kitten is explaining that it is not up for auction, but is a donated piece for tonight. And how it is an 16th century samurai helmet and tekko-kagi, but Kitten would know that isn't true. She would know that The Shredder's armour is a modern interpretation of the ancient counterparts. Which means...Kitten's been talking to Karai. They are planning something together!" Donatello's voice said in shock.

"What do you mean they're plannin' somethin'!" Raphael's voice yelled into Michelangelo's headset. "You said they hadn't talked. Karai has never mentioned Kitten since the night she rescued us!"

"But Kitten knows where she put the bug." Donatello said with grim respect. "She would be able to draw Karai away to ensure that we didn't know she was helping Karai."

"Damnit!" Raphael roared.

"Calm down Raph." Leonardo admonished. "What are they planning Donny? Why would they put The Shredder's helmet and gauntlet on display?"

"Let me think." Donatello said as Michelangelo's headset went silent for a few minutes. "In the criminal underworld The Shredder's helmet and glove would be a symbol, and a warning. They are trying to give 'The Face' and his gangs a message. But it is also possible they think that 'The Face may attempt to steal the helmet and gauntlet as a trophy. So Kitten and Karai either think that 'The Face' is there in the room with them right now, or they believe that word will get out and it will be stolen after everyone goes home."

"Raph," Leonardo ordered.

"Yeah, yeah, on it Leo. I'm watchin'." Raphael responded.

"Donny keep an eye on Katherine." Leonardo said grimly. "Mikey keep your position and watch for any strange activity."

"On it Leo." Michelangelo responded in a worried voice. He had thought that Katherine had not wanted to have anything to do with them because of the danger she had been placed in. Instead, she was up to her neck in trouble and in communication with Karai. Michelangelo's heart clenched in worry.

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> felt his heart begin to race in fear. Katherine was still involved in trying to find 'The Face'. He could accept Katherine not being with them to stay safe, to stay out of danger, but she was still in it.

"Donny, keep an eye on Katherine." Leonardo said grimly. "Mikey, keep your position and watch for any strange activity." He said into his headset.

Leonardo's world exploded with pain as he was knocked down, his headset flying from his head, to be crushed under a heavy booted foot.

Leonardo rolled out of the way of another boot and quickly rose to his feet unsheathing his swords. Four of five thugs attacked him at once. He avoided blows from a fist, a pipe, a bat and a boot. Every blow against the defense of his swords brought a pain filled wave of agony burning up his arm and shoulder. He lashed out a furious kick, hitting one of the thugs in the stomach, driving him back. He then managed to punch one of the men in the jaw. He fell to the ground and rolled, not getting back up. The bat hit against his left sword causing his already strained arm to buckle under the blow. The bat struck him in the chest, doing little damage as it hit his plastron, but he stumbled back. A Metal chain was suddenly wrapped tightly around his neck. He struggled against the iron grip that held the chain to his throat as he tried and failed to take a much needed gasp of air. He could feel his struggles becoming less fierce as his body began to shut down.

"Remember, the boss wants it alive and unharmed." A fuzzy voice said close to his ear.

Leonardo's world went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Donatello<strong> watched as the party goers finally began to drift out of the Museum. He had kept a close eye on Katherine all night. She had drifted from group to group making polite conversation and bidding every now and then on a particular object.

Katherine and Barry had their heads together as he passed her a white business card. She looked at the card and tipped her head up to him. He touched her cheek and kissed her. She kissed him back.

Donatello found himself making a choked sort of noise.

"You okay Donny?" Raphael's concerned voice asked in his ear.

"Barry just kissed Kitten." Donatello said before he could stop himself.

"What?" Raphael roared. "Tell me she slapped the guy!" Raphael growled.

"Uh, no." Donatello said as Barry said something else before he left. "But he's leaving."

"At least they aren't going home together Raph." Michelangelo's voice said.

Donatello studied Katherine who looked shocked. She gently touched her lips and frowned. Something flashed through her eyes, but Donatello couldn't understand what she was feeling. Katherine turned and walked over to the British gentleman that Donatello recognized from the museum when they had thought Katherine was the enemy. Gordon, if Donatello remembered correctly.

More and more people began to filter out leaving the Museum empty.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> stretched and rubbed her face. She was officially done. She was too tired to even think anymore. The night had been a success in that the museum had made a lot of money. Barry had embarrassed her by bidding and winning her painting for 10 million dollars. All of which would go to the museum. As for her and Karai's plan in regards to her father's helmet and glove, it was still in the works. She hadn't noticed any particular interest by anyone at the event, but that didn't mean anything. Tonight would be the real test. There were video cameras as well as other means of surveillance set up to catch any would be thieves.

She had wished Barry a goodnight an hour ago and he had told her that he had enjoyed their date. He had given her his business card and had kissed her goodnight. She had been surprised and she had kissed him back. She could admit to herself that she did feel a certain amount of attraction to him, and that if she wasn't already in love with two other men, she would have seriously considered dating him. However Barry's kiss had only reinforced that fact that she preferred the touch of a cool, three fingered hands against her skin, and the taste and feel of mouths that had no lips, were wider than a human one, but managed to stir within her a longing to kiss those mouths forever.

She turned her thoughts away from Leonardo and Raphael, and walked into the cool December night. She looked around, seeing if she could spot crouched, shadowy figures, denser than the surrounding dark. She knew the brothers were out there somewhere. She knew that one of them had been in the auction room, though she hadn't seen him. She was betting on Donatello, since she didn't have that skin tingling awareness that rode over her skin whenever Raphael or Leonardo was near.

She walked down the steps to her Limo. The driver opened the door for her. He was a different driver than the one that had picked her up, but that was not unusual. She slid onto the seat and looked at the dark haired man that sat across from her.

"Damn..." She said, cursing herself for being a fool as the man across from her moved, placing a white foul smelling cloth across her face. Katherine struggled but darkness clawed and ripped at her dragging her down into nothingness.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> watched as Katharine got into the limo and it drove off. He was seething in anger. He just couldn't believe that she had really just walked away from him. He understood why she would. He knew he was no prize, and he knew his life was dangerous, but she had fought for him and his brother on Thanksgiving. And he understood her being angry for them being captured by Karai and hiding the truth of their actions from her. But he would have thought she would have forgiven them by now, or at least talked to them. "She's gone Leo, so what are we gonna do now, just sit here and wait?"

Raphael waited a few minutes and frowned. "Leo?" He asked again and again his brother did not answer him. "Mikey you see Leo anywhere?" He asked, his skin beginning to crawl with worry.

"I've found his headset," Michelangelo said, his voice rising in panic. "It's been smashed, and his swords are just laying here." The last was said in a horrified whisper.

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts? Opinions? Any guesses as to what is going on?<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**A big thank you to Amonrapheonix for not only the idea for the Leo scene, but also for beta reading this chapter and brainstorming with me!**

**Also a huge thank you to Chibiwolf33 for your awesome review! =)**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 7<span>

**Raphael** clenched his sais in a white knuckled grip. He needed to hit something, or preferably someone. "Where the Hell is Leo!" He shouted as he looked at Donatello desperately.

"I don't know, but he put up a fight." Donatello said softly as he stood. "But it doesn't make any sense. Who would take him? I mean, if they were able to subdue him, why not just kill him?" Donatello asked.

"Donny, I need you to figure this one out. I can't even think right now." Raphael said as he tucked his sais into his belt and gently picked up his brother's swords from the ground.

"Kitten, call us. Please, please call us. It's Leo, someone's got him." Michelangelo said as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. Michelangelo looked at him with worried eyes. "Kitten still isn't answering her phone." He said softly.

Donatello's eyes widened. "Leo's phone has a GPS unit. I can track him using my phone." He said triumphantly.

"Then what are you waiting for Donny." Raphael snapped impatiently as he eased up the death grip he had on his brother's swords. Donatello shot him an irritated glance. "I'm sorry Donny. I'm just...I'm worried." He said softly as his heart clenched in fear. He should have known not to leave his brother alone.

"Tracking a cell is easy now. I made sure all of our cells have the GPS function turned on, and as long as Leonardo and his cell are in the same place, all I need to do is..." Donatello began tapping the screen of his phone intently.

"It's my fault." Raphael said softly. "Leo's shoulder is still messed up." He said with regret. Leonardo's shoulder had never really healed and Raphael had known his brother wasn't up to fighting against more than one or two armed opponents at once.

"Raph, it's not your fault." Michelangelo said as he put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We didn't know someone would be gunnin' for us."

Raphael nodded and then frowned. "But…I didn't see anyone Mikey." He said in confusion. "If whoever took Leo was so gung ho on getting us, why'd they only take Leo?" asked in confusion.

Michelangelo frowned at him. "I don't…" Michelangelo began, but was interrupted when Donatello said that he had found Leonardo's cell.

"He's not even in Manhattan anymore." Donatello said in confusion.

"What!" Raphael said in surprise.

"Whoever took Leo, took him across the George Washington Bridge. It looks like he's located in a building close to the Hudson river."

"Let's go." Raphael ordered as he and his brothers ran the rooftops to get to their truck.

"We'll find him Raph." Michelangelo said with a worried glance.

"I know Mikey, but…this just feels wrong." He said as he hit street level.

"How long have they had him Donny?" Raphael questioned as he leapt into their truck, starting up the engine, and flooring it without even waiting for his brothers to buckle up.

"The last radio contact we had with him was just before the auction." Donatello said as he hung on for dear life in the back. Michelangelo was riding shotgun and holding onto the strap with a white knuckled grip.

"Worst case Donny." He said in irritation that was filled with too much worry. Someone had his big brother. This thought filled him with so much heart wrenching fear that he was surprised that he was still functioning. Leonardo was the best of them. He was the one he and his brothers turned to when things got bad, because Leonardo was their rock. He was the one who had all of the answers.

"It should have been me." He said quietly. "They should have taken me. We need Leo. I'm just good at bustin' heads and disappointing everyone and makin' a mess of everythin'." He said through clenched teeth. "I couldn't even keep my girlfriend. Leo's better'n me, Kitten knows it, she's just too damn nice to just break up with just me."

"Raph…" Michelangelo said to him.

"Three hours." Donatello said suddenly. Raphael looked at his brother in confusion. "Worst case scenario is that Leo has been gone for 3 hours. The auction was an hour and a half, and Kitten stayed for an hour and a half after the auction. So worst case scenario is that Leo's been gone for three hours, give or take a few minutes." Donatello said with a hitch of worry in his voice.

"Three hours!" Raphael roared as fear rose up to choke him. He wasn't good at the waiting and the planning. He was good at the charging in and breaking heads. He didn't even know who had taken his brother or why.

"We'll find him Raph." Donatello reassured him.

"But Donny, what if we're too late?" He asked in horror. He couldn't stand the thought that while he had been moping on the rooftop because Katherine had been out on a date, his brother could have been taken, tortured, and killed. His only consolation at the moment was that Katherine was well away from whatever danger they were being pulled into.

"Uh Donny, you know how you did the GPS thing to Leo's phone?" Michelangelo asked.

"Yeah Mikey." Donatello said turning his attention away from him and to their younger brother who had paled.

"Then am I reading this wrong, or is Kitten's cell where Leo's is?" He asked softly as he showed Donatello his cell phone.

Donatello quickly snatched Michelangelo's phone from his hands and looked at it. Donatello went pale.

Raphael let out a string of curses that would make a sailor proud. "I can't do this again Donny, I can't." He said in a whisper.

"Whoever has Leo has Kitten." Donatello said with soft regret.

If possible Raphael gripped the steering wheel more tightly. He could actually feel the plastic beginning to warp under the strength of his grip. He slammed the accelerator to the floor. "We were supposed to be protectin' her! How the Hell did they get her!" He yelled. He couldn't deal with all of the other emotions that were ripping and tearing through him. He clung to his anger because it was the only thing that was keeping him sane as he raced down darkened street to where his brother and the woman he loved were being held.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> suppressed a groan. She felt her head throb, but ignored it. She wanted to sense her surroundings before she gave her kidnapper any indication that she had regained consciousness.

She could tell that she wasn't alone, and that she was slumped against what felt like a concrete wall of some sort. She wasn't tied up, but there was something heavy and metal around her throat. There was also a familiar weight and texture of an object clasped in her hand.

She heard a hiss of pain. "Katherine!" Leonardo's horror and grief filled voice roared in agony.

She opened her eyes and took in the sight of Leonardo in nothing but his boxers. He was strung up spread eagle against the opposite wall, leather straps wrapped around his wrists and ankles. His body was supported by chains attached to the top and bottom of the wall. He struggled in vain against the chains that held him.

"Leonardo?" She asked as she slowly stood, the grip of a bow clasped in her hand.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." A disembodied masculine voice said to her. Katherine looked around the room. It was long and narrow, with white painted walls, a high, dropdown ceiling, with a speaker and camera mounted in the corner behind Leonardo. To her left was a large mirror, most likely a window from where their kidnapper was watching them. Above the window was a digital clock, to right of the window was a heavy metal door.

"What do you want!" Leonardo shouted as he struggled some more.

Katherine noticed deep bruising around Leonardo's neck, and could tell by the strain in his face that he was in a great deal of pain. She knew it had to be his shoulder, and upper arm, the one that had never fully recovered from being hit by the bullet from Hun's gun.

"I don't want anything." The voice replied. "But my boss, well, he wants something from you Miss Brooks."

Katherine looked at the bow in her hand and then at Leonardo as she connected the dots. "I've already played this game twice this month, I think I'm good." She said to the camera.

The man's voice chuckled. "This is how the game goes." He began as red numbers appeared on the clock. The clock read 10:00. "You have exactly 10 minutes to kill this creature in the exact way that you killed Hun."

"Or else what? You kill us both anyway?" She asked the voice.

The voice chuckled. "If you have not noticed, you have gained a rather nice new accessory around your neck. That little baby is loaded with enough C4 to blow that pretty little head off your shoulders, plus some. So you kill him, or you go boom." The voice said maliciously.

"And if I kill him, then what, my head isn't blown from my body?" She asked.

"If you kill him, my boss may reconsider his need for your death."

"So this collar can be removed?" She asked.

"It can be removed. However, if you tamper with it, pull at it, or try to disarm it, it will explode." The voice warned.

"So I have to kill him on the off chance that your boss may or may not let me live, is that the deal?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Then I refuse." She said as she brought her hand up to grab at the collar.

"Katherine, NO!" Leonardo yelled at her, his voice breaking in fear.

"I'm sorry Leonardo. We are both dead anyway. This way I won't have to kill you, and the explosion may allow you to escape." She said to him softly. Her hands trembled as she dropped the bow, and placed her other hand on the collar.

"No. Please Katherine. Please don't do this. I can't lose you." His voice broke as tears of anguished misery and horror trickled down his cheeks, darkening his mask as they trailed down to drip from his chin. "I love you too much to watch you die for me. Please." He begged in a broken whisper.

Katherine smiled a wavering smile at him. She would not allow the tears that threatened to fall go. She blinked them back because if she let them fall, she wouldn't be brave enough to pull the collar from her neck, killing herself, but possibly saving Leonardo's life. She was willing to hold onto the possibility that Leonardo would be able to escape, because she knew that 'The Face', who had to be the one holding them, would never let her live. Hun's death was personal.

"I had heard that you may resist shooting this one, since there was the strong possibility of a romantic attachment between you two. I also heard that you have no regard for personal preservation and would most likely sacrifice yourself, rather than kill this creature." The voice said to her.

Leonardo's tear filled eyes widened in shock as he paled.

The voice continued. "And so I have brought along a little incentive. If you would turn your attention to your left, you will notice the large window." Katherine was suddenly able to see into the room beyond the window. A man sat on a table, a gun pointed at the head of a little girl who looked to be around 4 or 5 years old. Her brown hair was done up in pigtails, her brown eyes wide with terror as tears streaked down her face. Her arms clutched a stuffed bunny to her pink, pyjama clad chest. "This here is Emma. Emma dies if you don't kill him. You kill him, I let her go. So now that all of the rules of the game have been established, tick-tock the timer is on the clock. Oh, and when the clock counts down to zero, you go boom."

Katherine studied the man carefully, burning his face into her memory. He was dark haired, with a thin face and slightly crooked bottom teeth. His skin was pale, but he had a dark 5 o'clock shadow, thick eyebrows, and dark brown eyes. He had a spider tattoo on the back of his hand between his pointer finger and thumb on his left hand. "Was kidnapping the girl your idea or 'The Face's'?" Katherine asked softly.

The man smiled, not denying who had ordered them captured and placed in this situation. "I knew who I was dealing with. You have a thing for children Miss Brooks. You are always convincing your Uncle to donate to various children's charities. I knew you would not let an innocent little girl die." He said with a self satisfied smile.

Katherine glanced and read the clock, 8:45 was slashed across the black surface in red glowing numbers. Katherine reached down and picked up the bow. There was a quiver of arrows by her feet. She picked up the quiver and put it over her shoulder and across her chest. "What is your name?" Katherine asked as she notched an arrow onto her string.

"You can call me Mr. White." He said with a smile.

"Reservoir Dogs. You do know how that movie ended, right?" She questioned as she looked at Leonardo.

Leonardo looked back at her with grim resignation.

"Stop talking and start shooting." Mr. White ordered.

"I have ten minutes, or 7 minutes, 25 seconds." Katherine said as she looked at him. "Do you believe in ghosts Mr. White?" Katherine asked in a steady voice as she walked back to where she had woken up and leaned with her back against the wall.

Mr. White snorted. "There is no such thing. You killed Hun, not some ghost."

"That is not what I was asking. More, if you do not let that little girl go after we die, I will come back and haunt you. I swear I will make the rest of your life a living Hell."

Mr. White laughed at her threat. "You don't scare me, and neither do your threats, because you and your boyfriend are dead."

"Well, how about this one." She said ignoring his words. "You had better hope that I am dead by the end of this, because if I am not, I am going to hunt you down and kill you for kidnapping that little girl and putting her through this." She said softly.

Mr. White laughed again. "Don't worry, you will be nice and dead. Five minutes I believe." Mr. White said with a smile as he cocked the hammer on the gun.

Katherine turned her attention back to Leonardo.

They stared at each other.

There wasn't enough time for them to tell each other how much they loved the other, and she was not going to give 'The Face' the satisfaction of knowing how much having to kill Leonardo was going to rip her up and tear her open before the bomb around her neck killed her. She wanted to cry and rant and rail and struggle against the inevitable, but there was no point, because Mr. White was right. She couldn't let an innocent child die so that she and Leonardo could die a few minutes later. She had no choice but to kill the man she loved, for someone's sick idea of revenge.

She stared into Leonardo's eyes. His eyes, normally such a dark brown that appeared almost black, had lightened to a rich chocolate brown. His eyes stared back at her with too many emotions to even begin to separate them. But one thing she did know for certain, Leonardo was going to let her kill him. She could see the determination in his face, echoed in his eyes. He was not going to make this any harder for her than it had to be. He had come to the same conclusion as she had. There was the possibility that Mr. White wouldn't kill the girl, but Katherine was good at reading people, and Mr. White was a psychopath, a psychopath on someone's very loose leash. Which meant she had no choice. Kill Leonardo, or that little girl died because she thought that living until the clock hit zero was more important than that girl's life.

She forced herself to hold back the tears.

"This is my fault Katherine." Leonardo said to her softly. "All of it, from the very beginning. But, if I wasn't so weak, if I had trained harder, pushed myself, worked through the pain in my shoulder, none of this would have happened. They wouldn't have captured me. I would have uncovered their plan and I would have been able to save you."

She gave him what was no doubt, a watery smile. None of it was his fault. It was Hun's fault, and now hers. 'The Face' was after her. Leonardo was a means to an end. Of course, she knew that this whole situation was 'The Face's' fault, not hers, but it didn't take away her own guilt.

"Not your fault, mine." She said softly. "I never wanted you to save me Leonardo, but in this case, I think I would have made an exception." She said with a quirk of her lips. She drew back her bow as he looked at her steadily. "But we don't need extra witnesses to our deaths." She said softly as she shot the camera behind Leonardo. Sparks flew and Mr. White stood angrily.

She pulled another arrow from her quiver and notched it on her string. She closed her eyes and slowly began the process of breaking herself. She took every emotion she felt, ever bit of fear, terror, horror, pain, grief, anger, and a plethora of other emotions, and put them in a box. She reached into the emptiness and gathered the strength she needed to be able to notch the arrow and aim true. She was empty, numb. Katherine no longer existed. She had died the moment she realized that death was the only way out of this room.

Katherine opened her eyes and looked at the man she loved with dead, emotionless eyes. "My last shot will sever your jugular. " She said in a flat, dead voice. "I'll shoot you with exactly 30 seconds left on the clock. We'll both die at the same time." She pulled another arrow from her quiver and aimed for Leonardo's cheek. Leonardo looked back at her with nothing but love in his eyes. Her emotions threatened to break loose. She wanted to run up to him, touch him, kiss him, hold him, one last time. She wanted to scream that life wasn't fair, but she already knew this. She wanted time to stop. She wanted the doors behind Mr. White to burst open and save her from the fate that loomed in front of her. She didn't want to die, but knew that there was only a faint hope that she would live through the next three minutes. But Leonardo's death she couldn't bear. She knew that he was a warrior, and was trained to die if he had to, but she didn't want that to be his fate. But at this moment, they were willing to die so that the little girl could live. They shared a moment of perfect understanding as she let her first arrow fly, Leonardo wincing slightly as it sliced across his cheek.

She glanced at the clock which read 2:32. She clenched her teeth together as a little piece of her died with each arrow that sliced through Leonardo's flesh. She drew and fired five more arrows, each striking their intended mark, and each cutting deep enough into his flesh to make him bleed, but not deep enough to cause any serious damage. The blood from Leonardo's cheek had reached his neck, his arms and legs bled slowly. She had paused when she had realized that she was going to have to slice through the flesh of Leonardo's good shoulder, but knew the cut would not be deep, and besides, they were both dead anyway, unless Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo managed to find them in time, then just she would be dead. She glanced at the clock, one minute 28 seconds remained. She clenched her fingers more tightly against the bow. She may be dead inside, but it didn't mean that she was about to give up all hope. _Sometimes you had to give yourself hope_. She thought to herself as she drew back the string of her bow and fired the final shot at Leonardo's neck well before the 30 second mark had hit.

Leonardo's eyes widened in shock as his blood trickled down the gash in his neck. His eyes closed, his body going limp as Katherine grabbed the collar around her neck.

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><p><strong>I am an evil author and I apologize...=)<strong>

**So, thougths and opinions are always welcomed and highly encouraged.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A big giant thank you again to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter, pointing out my mistakes, making suggestions and helping with the medical stuff. *I bow on hands and knees*=)**

**Also thank you to my awesome reviewers Kaaayyyttee, chibiwolf33 and Icecreampopstar, mela989898 and Rocky181!**

**Is everyone on pins and needles to know what happened...Well, read on!**

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><p><span>Chapter 8<span>

**Barry** looked at Katherine's scarf in irritation. He clutched it angrily as he stared at the derelict police building that he was parked across the street from. He had pulled around back, following the limo which had entered the rear of the building through an underground parkade.

He had found the scarf tucked into his coat when he was driving home and had decided to return it to her. He knew that she was still at the Museum and would be there for a while, doing whatever it was she had to do before she left for the night. She had said that she was going to go straight home, and so he knew all he had to do was drive back to the Museum and wait until she emerged.

He had found that he had enjoyed his time with Katherine. He had found her to be as beautiful as her picture, but she hadn't seemed to care about her appearance. He had found her to be funny and engaging. He had been curious to ask her how she had gotten the scar across her cheek, but he hadn't wanted to be rude, or point out the imperfection that had streaked across her pale cheek. He was actually quite surprised that she hadn't tried to cover it up, or hide it with her hair. Instead her makeup had been light and her hair swept up into an unconcerned mass of curls on top of her head.

She wasn't pretentious and had seen through the societal mask he wore when in "polite" company. It was the mask he had to wear in order to function at events like the Museum's charity event. He hated society events, but had found the time had flown by in Katherine's company. She seemed to understand him without even knowing him.

He had watched as Katherine emerged from the Museum and scanned her surroundings. He had frowned slightly. Being a soldier of sorts he tended to be aware of his surroundings, and had found that even in the city and at home he tended to be paranoid. But he supposed that after she had been kidnapped in Tanzania, she would always be aware of her surroundings as well.

Katherine had walked down the steps of the museum to her limo. Barry had found himself strangely reluctant to open his door and rush out to give her scarf back. He had secretly hoped to ask her to go out for a drink with him. But he had known that it was quite late and had suspected that she would turn him down. He had decided that he did not want Katherine to reject his offer. With that in mind he had opted to let her go home to sleep, and tomorrow he would call her and arrange to meet her to give her back her scarf.

Katherine had paused before she had gotten into the limo, and had studied the driver. She then got into the limo, the driver walking around and getting into the front. The limo had finally pulled away.

He had followed the limo, since the limo was going in the direction of his place, which was in Englewood, New Jersey. He knew Katherine was staying at her uncle's cabin in Hunter. It was a two hour drive north and had been confused when the limo had turned west and headed towards the George Washington Bridge instead of across the Tappan Zee Bridge.

He had felt a surge of anger when he realized that she had lied to him and was not going home. He had continued to follow the limo until it had pulled into the underground garage located in the abandoned police station he was currently watching. He wasn't sure what he was doing. He wasn't sure why the fact that she had lied to him bothered him so much. Maybe it was because she didn't seem like the kind of person who would lie, though how he could establish that kind of assumption after one meeting he wasn't sure.

But he was starting to get a bad feeling in his gut, and he had learned to listen to his gut. He reached over and pulled his Browning 9 mm from his glove compartment.

An armoured vehicle screeched to a halt close to the back door of the building. One shadowy figure emerged quickly from the cab of the truck, followed by two others.

The building exploded in a mass of red flames, shattering glass, flying debris and pulverized concrete.

Barry launched himself out of his car as he looked at the building in horror. There was a guttural roar of keening agony that tore through the night.

Barry noticed the figures that had leapt from the truck running into the burning building. Barry took off running, following the men.

Two coughing figures emerged from a side door, the larger figure dragging a smaller figure behind it.

He changed course and ran towards the figures, hoping that perhaps Katherine had managed to get out of the building before it had exploded. The larger figure pulled a gun yelled at the smaller figure who Barry realized was a child.

Barry was just able to make out the figure to be a man, who turned and looked at the burning building. He pointed something at the building and another explosion rocked the structure, the building groaning ominously.

Barry levelled the gun at the man and fired. The bullet struck the hand that was levelled at the building. The man shouted in pain as he let go of the child. The child looked at Barry and ran towards him. The man took one look at him and ran.

The child threw herself into his arms as he crouched down to soothe her. She was crying big, heaving, broken sobs. He made comforting noises and pulled her away from him.

"Sweetheart, listen to me, this is very important, did you see anyone else in there?" He asked as gently as he could.

The little girl gave a giant sniff and looked at him with big round eyes. "The bad man made the pretty lady shoot the turtle man." She said in a broken, shaking voice.

"And the pretty lady?" He asked softly.

"The bad man said she would go boom." She said in a horror filled voice.

Barry could hear sirens in the background. He pulled the little girl around tot eh front of the building. There was a crowd of people beginning to gather. He warred with himself. He wanted to make sure the little girl was safe, but at the same time he knew he needed to get inside the building to see if Katherine was still alive.

"See all those people?" He said to the girl." Go stand with them and when you see a police officer, tell them what happened to you okay?" He said to the girl who nodded her head. He let her go and she ran towards the people while he ran towards the building. He used the side door that the man and girl had used. He wondered if the men he had saw entering the building were still alive or not.

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><p><strong>Raphael<strong> coughed as his lungs burned. They were searching the wreckage for any sign that Leonardo or Katherine were still alive.

When they had pulled up to the building it had been quiet, the night cool. He could feel the wind skittering across the planes of his cheeks, and then the night had erupted into blinding, ear rending chaos. His mind could barely comprehend what his eyes saw as the building exploded with his brother and the woman he loved inside.

At that moment his heart stopped beating. He had felt it clench within his chest as his whole world began to go black. He had thrown back his head and let out a roar, filled with so much anger and grief, that he couldn't even begin to comprehend the pain he was feeling.

They had run into the building with no other thought but to pull their brother and the woman he loved out, dead or alive.

Raphael squinted as he searched the room he was in. They had split up to quicken the search of the single story building.

He pulled in another gasp of heat laced air that burned his lungs as he avoided falling, burning debris.

He looked under desks and pushed fallen filing cabinets out of the way. His world exploded as another explosion rocked the building.

"Donny! Mikey!" He shouted into his headset.

"M'kay." Michelangelo's slurred voice came over the com. "That was too close." His voice was a little stronger.

"Donny!" Raphael yelled into the com.

The com was silent.

Raphael felt his heart clench in fear. "Donny!" He screamed as his voice broke in grief.

The com remained quiet.

"Mikey! Find Donny!" He ordered as he ran from the room he was sorting through. "We need to get Donny and get out of here!" He told his brother. He dashed the tears from his eyes as he realized he was going to have to leave without the bodies of his brother and the woman he loved, because he wasn't going to lose another brother.

Part of the roof fell in front of him. Burning debris caught his arm lighting his jacket on fire. He quickly patted out the fire and looked at the pile of burning plywood that blocked his way. He screamed in frustration as he punched and kicked at the debris. He ignored the pain in his hands as he lifted a section of burning wood out of the way.

"I've found Leo!" Donatello's voice came through the com.

Raphael gave a final shove and cleared the way for himself.

"Donny!" He said in relief as he ran down a partially destroyed cinderblock hallway. "Where are you? Is Leo okay, have you found Katherine!" His hoarse voice croaked.

He stopped as he saw Donatello crouched over an arm buried under a mass of burning rubble.

Raphael stumbled into the room. He shook his head as his vision began to blur.

"Help me Raph!" Donatello yelled desperately. "I can't get this off him." Donatello said as he desperately began pulling some smaller bits of the drop down ceiling that had fallen on top of the concrete that was currently pinning his brother. Raphael helped Donatello lift the broken slab of concrete, revealing his brother's broken and bloody body.

Raphael stared at his brother's bloody body in horror. "Donny...is he...?" Raphael couldn't finish the horrific thought, because if he did, he would have to acknowledge that his brother may be dead, and that was a thought he couldn't allow himself to have.

Donatello crouched over their brother's motionless body. "He's alive, but barely." Donatello said in a worried voice. "We need to get him out of here." Donatello said as Raphael helped to heft his unconscious brother up.

"Donny his, neck." He said in a choked whisper.

Donatello glanced at his brother's neck, but his eyes went to Leonardo's leg. "I'm more worried about his leg." Donatello said as he quickly bent down.

Raphael looked at his brother's leg in horror. There was a large shard of glass embedded in his thigh.

Donatello quickly ripped a strip of fabric from Raphael's tattered coat. Donatello desperatley searched the floor and pulled a short, broken piece of rebar from under some debris. He tied the fabric around Leonardo's thigh above the glass, inserted the rebar, and twisted the fabric tight forming a tourniquet. Donatello stood and Raphael threw his coat around Leonardo's shoulders and quickly dragged their bloody brother from the burning room.

"Donny can you handle Leo?" He asked his brother. "If Leo's still alive, then maybe..." He looked at his brother desperately.

"I've found her!" Michelangelo's voice came over the com.

Raphael felt relief course through him until he realized his brother hadn't told him if she was alive.

"Mikey is she...?" He asked barely letting himself hope.

"I can't tell Raph." Michelangelo's voice was barely audible over his com.

Raphael stumbled over a piece of burning debris as they skirted a section of roof that had come down.

His vision wavered again. "Donny." He said softly.

"I know Raph." Donatello said. "We need to get out of here."

"Mikey!" He yelled.

"I got her Raph, but I can't tell..." Michelangelo said with panic.

"Get out of there Mikey!" Raphael yelled as he heard the building begin to groan ominously.

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><p><strong>Michelangelo<strong> stood on a fallen desk. "I can't tell Raph." He said as he gently pulled Katherine's battered and bloody body from the ceiling. She was tangled in electrical wiring and the metal support structure for the drop down ceiling.

"I got her Raph, but I can't tell..." Michelangelo said with panic as he looked Katherine over. The smoke was too bad, the heat too intense. He was shaking too badly to even begin to try to take a pulse. All he knew for sure was that either she was unconscious or dead. And he hoped and prayed it wasn't the latter.

"Get out of there Mikey!" Raphael yelled.

Michelangelo heard the building give off a groan of protest and then shudder.

He clutched Katherine's body close as he stepped from the desk, turning and looking into the barrel of a gun.

Michelangelo's eyes widened with recognition as he clutched Katherine closer.

Michelangelo took a wary step back. He knew most of his appearance was covered by his heavy winter coat and hat, and his hood pulled up over his head.

"Give her to me." Barry shouted at him. Michelangelo looked up as sparks showered down from broken electrical wires.

They needed to get out of there. Michelangelo gently passed Katherine to Barry. "We need to get out of here!" He yelled at Barry over the roar of the flames.

Barry put up his gun as they ran from the structure.

"Mikey!" Raphael yelled in his headset.

"We're almost out!" Michelangelo yelled back.

They managed to stumble through a side door just as the building gave a groan, shuddered and collapsed behind them.

"Raph!" Michelangelo screamed.

"We're good!" Raphael said as his brother's emerged from around a pile of broken cinderblocks and twisted metal.

Michelangelo's eyes sought out his fallen brother, supported between both Donatello and Raphael. Raphael had put his coat on Leonardo, who appeared to have been stripped of most of his clothing.

"Mikey where's...?" His brother stopped dead and looked at Barry, who was holding Katherine close.

A low growl started in his brother's throat. "Put her down, real slow." Raphael said in a low, dangerous voice.

Barry raised his gun. "I don't know who the hell you people are, but she needs a hospital."

"She still alive?" Raphael questioned softly.

Barry gave a curt nod.

Raphael closed his eyes and took a deep relieved breath.

Michelangelo closed his eyes in relief. Opening them again when Donatello began to speak.

"Raph, Leo's not doing so good." Donatello said, panic beginning to fill his voice.

Donatello eased Leonardo to the ground. Donatello began checking Leonardo's pulse. "His heart rate is too fast. We need to get him stable. He's lost a lot of blood."

Raphael's eyes flicked to Donatello and back to Barry.

"You take her to a hospital, she's dead. If you didn't notice, they just tried to kill her. So give her back." Raphael growled as he took a step towards Barry, completely ignoring Barry's gun.

"How do I know that you weren't the ones who tried to kill her?" Barry asked.

Raphael growled louder. "Give my girlfriend back you rich son of a bitch!" Raphael roared.

"Raph!" Donatello shouted.

Barry blinked in surprise.

The sound of sirens and flashing lights screeched and lit the night.

"There are medical supplies in the truck. If you care about Katherine, bring her." Donatello said as he motioned for Raphael to help him pick up his too pale brother.

Raphael turned and helped Donatello heave Leonardo from the ground. They began to quickly make their way towards their truck. Michelangelo followed his brothers, Barry reluctantly trailing behind.

"My place is 10 minutes from here." Barry said softly. "I just got back from Bosnia and I have extensive medical supplies." Barry offered.

Donatello and Raphael loaded Leonardo into the back, Michelangelo took Katherine from Barry's unresisting grip and lay her down carefully beside Leonardo.

"Donny?" Raphael questioned. "Can we even trust this guy?" Raphael growled.

Michelangelo understood the underlying question, which was: Did Leonardo and Katherine have a better chance of survival if they drove to Barry's or did they risk driving the 45 minutes back to the lair?

"Drive." Donatello ordered Barry who ran and hopped into the driver's seat as Donatello closed door at the back of the tuck. Michelangelo hopped into the passenger seat.

"Raph, I need a light. Barry, I'm going to need oxygen tanks and masks, IV needles and saline solution."

"How did you...?" Barry began as he looked over his shoulder and took his first real look at Leonardo in the light. Barry's eyes widened in shock.

"Do you have those supplies?" Donatello asked with irritation.

Barry shook himself and turned his attention back to the road. "Yes." Barry answered.

"Donny why aren't they awake?" Raphael asked softly.

Michelangelo looked at his brothers grimly, his gaze sliding from Leonardo to Katherine, who hadn't moved. Blood streaked across her too pale face. Her clothing nothing but dirty bloody tatters.

Donatello did a cursory look over Katherine's injuries and determined that Leonardo needed immediate attention.

"Raph, I need you to help me. Katherine appears to be stable for now, but Leo's losing too much blood. I need to pull this shard of glass out now. I need to stop his bleeding. Put pressure on the gash on his neck, when it has stopped bleeding enough, bandage it up. I'll remove the glass lodged in his leg."

Michelangelo looked at his brothers in the back. The pale light of the flashlight in Raphael's hand illuminating the two silent figures laying on the floor of the truck.

"Mikey hold this." Raphael said as he passed the flashlight to him so that Raphael could begin bandaging the gash in Leonardo's neck.

"The cut is deep, but it didn't strike his jugular." Donatello informed him at his horrified glance at Leonardo's throat.

"Raph put pressure on this." Donatello said as he lay down the bloodied shard of glass that had embedded itself into Leonardo's thigh.

Raphael shifted position and moved closer to Leonardo's bloody thigh. "Uh Donny, is he supposed to bleed this much?" Raphael shouted in horror as the pad of gauze he had held to Leonardo's leg became soaked with blood.

Donatello swore, removing the pad to have a better look. Leonardo's blood spurted out in a quick rhythm "The glass nicked his femoral artery. Keep applying pressure Raph!" Donatello said as he searched the truck franticly."We need to elevate his leg. Lift it up!" Donatello ordered as he slid a duffel bag under Leonardo's leg, elevating it.

Donatello began searching for his brother's pulse. Donatello frowned and put his head down to his brother's slightly parted mouth. "He's not breathing. I...he doesn't have a pulse." Donatello checked for his brother's pulse and his breathing again. "H-he's gone." Donatello's voice broke in stunned grief.

Michelangelo looked at Donatello in shock as he shook his head in denial. _Leonardo couldn't be dead_. He thought to himself as tears began to stream down his cheeks.

"Oh no you don't!" Raphael shouted at Leonardo angrily. "You don't get to die, you hear me Leo!" Raphael's voice broke in anguish.

Raphael put two bloody hands on Leonardo's plastron and began pumping. He stopped and breathed a breath into Leonardo's mouth. He lifted his head up and began pumping again. "I will be so pissed off at you if you die." His voice broke as Raphael blew another puff of air into his brother's mouth.

Michelangelo could see the hope dying in Raphael's eyes as Leonardo failed to respond. "I'll be pissed at you Leo, and maybe you're okay with that, but if you die, Katherine is going to be so pissed off at you! Do you wanna have Katherine pissed off at you Leo? Huh? Cause I know I wouldn't, so unless you want that, you had better start breathing right now! Come ON!" He shouted angrily as tears of misery streamed down Raphael's mask, wetting the fabric. "You can't leave her Leo." His brother whispered desperately, "You promised." He said as he gave one last angry desperate push on his brother's plastron.

Leonardo gave a shuddering breath and coughed weakly. Raphael sat back as he dashed tears from his eyes. Donatello began pulling bandages from the compartments that lined the sides of the truck.

"Drive faster Barry!" Donatello shouted. "Raph, he's going to need surgery and he is going to need a transfusion. I need you to help me, do you understand?" Donatello said to him.

Raphael nodded.

"I can get you the supplies you need." Barry said from the driver's seat as they pulled up to a massive wrought iron gate.

Raphael reached out and grabbed Leonardo's limp hand in his bloody one. "Hold on Leo." He said with a hitch in his voice. "Just hold on."

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><p><strong>That was intense, and I will be honest, the next chapter will not be much better;).<strong>

**I hope everyone is enjoying so far. Thoughts, opinions and comments are always welcome!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A big thank you to my reviewers chibiwolf33, Kaaayyytteee, moonie016 and Rocky181!**

**Also a big giant thank you to Amonraphoenix for beta reading, giving me great medical advice, and dark evil thoughts!**

**A/N Warning this chapter contains medical situations!**

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><p><span>Chapter 9<span>

**Donatello** tried to quell the rising panic that threatened to overwhelm him. The truck pulled into a well lit attached garage, but Donatello didn't have the time to sit and gawk, he was mentally prepping himself for the surgery he was about to perform.

He closed his eyes as he fought down the fear and concentrated on what he had to do. His brothers had been injured many times before. Stab wounds, lacerations, burns, broken bones. But the injuries had never been this bad, this close to fatal, and it terrified him. He was afraid that this time, he wasn't going to be able to save his brother.

The back door was flung open revealing Michelangelo and Barry. Light flooded the darkened interior of the truck. "Keep his leg elevated!" He ordered Raphael as Michelangelo bounced from foot to foot in nervous apprehension.

"We need some sort of stretcher or something." Donatello said to Barry. Barry glanced around the garage and came back a moment later with a flat board stretcher.

Donatello nodded thankfully as he and Raphael took the stretcher.

"Where can we put him?" He asked Barry as he helped Raphael shift Leonardo onto the stretcher, strapping him firmly to the hard surface. Donatello looked at Raphael who nodded as they heaved Leonardo's motionless body out of the back of the truck.

"Kitchen table." Barry said. "Through the door behind you, to the house, turn right and straight down the hallway." Donatello gave a curt nod. "I can look after Katherine; I have some field medical training." Barry offered.

Donatello found a small bit of relief wash through him. At least Barry could look over Katherine's injuries more thoroughly. She had cuts, bruises, burns and lacerations, but she wasn't dying at the moment, Leonardo was. "Mikey, grab all of the A positive bags of blood from the fridge, and my medical bag." Donatello ordered.

Michelangelo nodded as he leapt into the truck to grab the blood that he kept stored in the truck in case of emergencies. He never thought he would actually have to use the supply in the truck, most of his blood supply being frozen in a freezer in his lab, with some unfrozen bags in his lab fridge. He was just thankful that he and Michelangelo were a compatible match for Leonardo. Raphael was the only one who was unable to receive blood from his brothers and give blood, which meant that Leonardo could have three of the six bags in the freezer. He looked at his brother and hoped that three bags would be enough. If not, one of his brothers would have to go back to the lair to get more blood, or if Barry had a blood transfusion machine he would be able to fill up at least two more bags of blood if he and Michelangelo donated.

Raphael fumbled with the door and they managed to get Leonardo into the house. They hung a right and headed for what looked to be the kitchen.

Donatello spotted the kitchen table which was thankfully bare of anything. They gently set their brother down on the wooden surface. "Find me some lights Raph!" He shouted at his brother who disappeared into the darkness of kitchen.

Light flooded the kitchen. A light blazed to life above him. Donatello looked at the light that hung over the kitchen table. It would do. Donatello quickly took in his surroundings as Barry carried Katherine into the kitchen and lay her down gently on the large granite topped island that dominated the kitchen's space.

Donatello grabbed his bag from Michelangelo's unresisting grip and threw it on the table. He pulled out all of the supplies he would need to complete Leonardo's surgery. He pulled off his jacket, balled it up, and stuck it under Leonardo's leg. He hadn't been able to check over his brother's other wounds in the truck so he did so now. His brother had minor burns on the back of his shoulders, small cuts and bruises on the backs of his arms and legs. Donatello checked Leonardo's ribs. His brother's plastron prevented him from knowing if his brother had suffered any broken ribs, but figured with the amount of force that Raphael had applied to get his brother's heart beating again, it was a pretty safe bet to assume that Leonardo was also suffering from broken ribs. Broken ribs probably meant bruised lungs. "I need a ventilator." He said as he continued his brother's quick examination. He checked his brother's arms and realized that the ulna in Leonardo's left forearm was broken.

He cursed. There was no time to set it just yet.

Donatello looked at Raphael, then ran over to the sink. _One injury at a time._ He thought to himself. "Raph wash your hands. I need to cut into his leg to expose his artery. I will need you to pinch his artery closed while I get the clamps and..." He stopped talking as he stared at Raphael's, blistered hands. The blisters were clear which meant that his brother looked to have suffered mild second degree burns on the palms and backs of his hands.

"Don't worry about me Donny, I can..." Raphael began.

Donatello shook his head. He put the plug in one side of the sink and began filling it with cold water. "Soak your hands for at least fifteen minutes Raph." He said he began washing his hands in the other side of the sink. His hands were as sterile as he could get under the circumstances. He would just have to hope that his brother didn't get an infection. He ran back to the kitchen table where Michelangelo was keeping pressure on the wound.

"Mikey, get me ice, lots of ice. Find something to wrap it in like towels, and then bring it over here, place it around his body. Hopefully that will slow his blood down and force him into a hibernation state. Also a damp towel for his burns." He said as he picked up his scalpel. He glanced at his unconscious brother's face and hoped that his brother would stay unconscious.

Barry was suddenly beside him with a ventilator, a heart and blood pressure monitor, IV pole, saline bags, tubing and needles. Barry began to set up the IV to get some blood into his brother as Donatello cut through the flesh of his brother's thigh. He used retractors to hold the wound open so that he could expose the artery.

Michelangelo began placing ice wrapped in towels around and over Leonardo's prone body.

Barry put an IV bag on the stand and looked at his brother's green skin searching for a vein. He finally found one and gently inserted the needle into the back of Leonardo's hand. "This will help for a bit. I am warming the blood up now." Barry said as he gently inserted the laryngoscope blade with his left hand while with his right hand he shoved the intubation tube down Leo's throat and into his trachea. Afterwards he strapped everything in place and attached the tube to the ventilator before turning on the machine. Donatello was impressed as the whole procedure only took Barry seconds to do. Barry then disappeared from Donatello's line of sight.

"Wash your hands Mikey. I need you to pinch this artery." He said turning his attention to Leonardo's leg as blood gushed from the artery in time with his brother's beating heart.

"Donny, I can't. You know how I am with blood." Michelangelo said in a weak voice. He gave Michelangelo a seething glance and Michelangelo grabbed his brother's artery, pinching it closed. Michelangelo turned a sick shade of grey.

"And don't you dare puke Mikey. Puke later." He said as he picked up a his clamps. He clamped the artery above and below the tear. He listened to the steady beep of the machine behind him.

Michelangelo let go of the artery when he had placed the final clamp.

Donatello looked at the clock on the stove. "Mikey I need you to watch that clock. I have 30 minutes to do this or else Leo will lose his entire leg. Okay?" He said to his grey faced brother. "I need to know when my time is almost up, got it?" He said as Michelangelo nodded at him weakly.

Barry came back and placed two bags of blood on the IV stand connecting the tubes together and inserting the needle into the crook of Leonardo's elbow.

Donatello pulled out a needle and using monofilament, began the arduous process of suturing the arterial tear. He could hear commotion behind him, but he tried to block it out and focus on his task. His hands began to shake slightly as each stitch was put in place. He knew time was not on his side. The longer his brother's leg remained without blood flow, the greater the chance that Leonardo would lose his leg completely due to oxygen starvation.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> looked at Leonardo anxiously as Donatello began doing whatever it was he was doing to patch Leonardo up.

Raphael coughed into his shoulder. He felt like he wasn't able to get enough air, and his head felt as if someone was using a jackhammer right behind his eyes.

Barry brought in more equipment from wherever it was Barry seemed to magically pulling it from.

Michelangelo stumbled away form Leonardo's side and placed the 30 minute countdown on the stove.

"You'd better go puke Mikey, before you retch somewhere you shouldn't." Raphael suggested to his grey skinned brother.

Michelangelo nodded dully as Barry pointed the way to the bathroom. Michelangelo ran from the kitchen. Not that he blamed his brother. The thought of having to reach into his brother's leg and hold his brother's artery even made his stomach roll.

Raphael glanced at the clock as Donatello's time counted down. Raphael knew Leonardo was clinging to life, but the thought that his brother could lose his entire leg shot a blaze of horror and fear through him.

His eyes strayed back to the granite countertop where Katherine lay motionless. He just wished that she would wake up. Once she was awake not only could he find out what had happened, but he could fall down on his knees and beg her to forgive him for too many damn things to even list.

He studied her injuries. She looked like a battered and bloody mess, but Donatello hadn't seemed that concerned, so he assumed everything was okay with her. He looked away from Katherine and back to his submerged hands in irritation. If he knew a little bit more about medicine he could be helping Katherine, as it was he was stuck with his hands in cold water for the next 7 minutes.

He looked back at Barry who had finished poking and prodding Leonardo with IV needles and was turning his attention back to Katherine. Raphael frowned as he took in Katherine's appearance. Something was wrong. She was pale and her face was covered in ash and soot, but there was something wrong with her colour. Her chest was moving up and down too rapidly. His eyes widened in horror as he realized that she was turning blue and a slow puddle of blood had spread out from beneath her head.

Raphael's heart lodged in his throat as he pulled his hands from the water. Barry had already noticed what he had.

"How much of a doctor are you?" He asked with fear laced anger as Barry gently began rolling Katherine's head to the side. Her hair was a mass of darkened blood.

"I'm not." Barry said as he moved Katherine's hair out of the way. "But I've seen enough battle damage to know some things." He said as he put his fingers over her neck, feeling her pulse. "Her heart is beating too fast and she's struggling to breathe" He pronounced. "Think Barry, think." He said to himself anxiously.

"What's wrong with her?" Raphael growled as his own heart started beating a rapid tattoo in his chest as adrenalin began pumping through his veins. He turned his head to the side and began coughing.

"I don't know. You need oxygen. We all need oxygen. She probably does too. We all probably have smoke inhalation to varying degrees." He said shaking his head. "But I don't know if smoke inhalation would turn her blue. Probably but..." He said his eyes frantically searching Katherine's face. Barry pulled a phone from his pocket and pushed a button.

Raphael was about to protest when he realized that Katherine may die. If she needed to get to a hospital he had no choice. No matter how much the thought of Katherine leaving his sight again choked him.

"Get your hands back in the water." Barry ordered as Michelangelo stumbled back into the room. "Mikey, right?" Barry asked him. Michelangelo nodded weakly. "Are you all right?" Michelangelo nodded weakly again. "Good, hold this compress over her head wound. It probably looks worse than it actually is. Head wounds tend to bleed, a lot." Barry said as Michelangelo took the white compress in his hand and looked at the bloody granite countertop. If it was possible Michelangelo went more grey, but swallowed and began putting pressure on the back of her head.

Raphael shoved his hands back in the water and looked at the time. He had 2 minutes left. "Screw this." He grumbled as he pulled his hands out. There was no way he was going to sit back and watch while Katherine bled to death in front of him. He grabbed the emergency kit that had been placed by the sink and dug out some bandages. He began wrapping his hands, figuring it would do for now.

"Deon! I need you to drop whatever you are doing and listen to me very carefully. Diagnosis. Patient is blue, and has a rapid heart rate and is struggling to breathe." Barry listened to the phone for a moment. "I don't know, patient is unconscious." Barry listened to the person on the other end. "Rudy it is a matter of life or death, just tell me what is wrong. Patient is also bleeding from a head wound and was involved in an explosion." Barry paused as he lifted the white compress that Michelangelo was holding to Katherine's head. "It looks to have stopped bleeding." Barry put the phone down placing it on speaker.

A deep masculine voice came over the phone. "What is the patient's blood pressure like?" He asked. "Usually if a person is turning blue it is due to lack of oxygen. and you said the patient is struggling to breathe?"

Barry leaned over Katherine. "Yes."

"You said explosion? Wait, wasn't there a building that just exploded over..."

"Deon!" Barry interrupted.

"If the patient was in that explosion they would most likely be suffering from smoke inhalation and possibly pneumothorax." Deon answered.

"English Deon!" Barry said with irritation.

"Collapsed lung." Came the quick reply.

"How do I tell if it's one or both?" Barry asked in desperation.

"Just assume both. Treatment is almost the same for both. First, assuming it is pneumothorax, you have to determine if it is tension or simple pneumothorax. If it is tension, the patient could go into cardiac arrest."

"How do I tell the difference?" Barry asked anxiously.

"Well if your patient isn't dead yet, I would guess it is simple pneumothorax. You would notice tension because there would be a puncture. Though a puncture could be caused by a broken rib. Does the patient have any obvious punctures or broken ribs?"

Barry looked at Katherine as he reached out to feel her ribs. Raphael hit Barry's hands out of the way and gently probed Katherine's ribs for any signs that she may have broken a rib. CPR, lacerations and broken bones were the only things he could medically do. Raphael shook his head as he ignored the burning pain that radiated from his hands.

"No broken ribs." Barry said into the phone.

"Okay, if it is simple you need to move quickly before it turns into a tension pneumothorax and the patient goes into cardiac arrest." Deon said. "If you have your kit you'll need scalpel. Make an incision in the middle of the side of two ribs. The excess air should hiss out, sometimes in the form of frothy bubbles. If this doesn't happen the patient doesn't have a collapsed lung. If the patient does exhibit signs of a collapsed lung, wait until the air is removed, seal off the incision and using 100% oxygen, try re-inflating the collapsed lung. This should also help with the smoke inhalation. But I would highly recommend getting your patient to the emergency room. Sooner than later."

"Thanks Deon." Barry said as he hung up the phone.

Raphael looked at Katherine's prone form. He grabbed the side of her battered and torn white dres and ripped it down the side seam exposing her ribs. Raphael stepped back as he and Michelangelo watched in trepidation as Barry began cutting through Katherine's pale blue flesh. Frothy blood bubbled out from the incision. "She does have a collapsed lung." Barry said softly. When the incision stopped frothing Barry stitched up the incision and placed an oxygen mask over Katherine's mouth and nose.

Raphael breathed out a silent breath of relief as Katherine's colour began returning to normal.

"I know you said it was dangerous for her to go to a hospital, but I know some people who could keep her presence discreet. They don't even have to know who she is. But trust me. She needs actual medical care immediately. She smashed her head and she hadn't woken up yet. She could have brain damage, her brain could be swollen, or any number of things I can't diagnose, and Donny over there is going to be busy for hours." Barry said reasonably.

He shared a look with Michelangelo who gave a quick nod.

He nodded to Barry who picked up his phone again.

Raphael's attention shot to the heart monitor that Leonardo was attached to as it began to beep erratically.

* * *

><p><strong>Donatello<strong> placed the final stitch and tied it off, cutting the monofilament. The heart monitor began making a warning noise. He looked at the machine in growing horror. "Mikey get me the defibrillator! Now!" He shouted at his brother.

"The what?" Michelangelo said in panic.

"The machine with the paddles." He said desperately as he put his fingers to Leonardo's throat.

"Donny?" Raphael voice shouted in horror.

"He's going into tachycardia arrest!" Donatello answered as an icy terror slid down his neck and gripped his heart in fear. He looked desperately at the monitor, his brother's heart beating too fast.

"He's going into what?" Raphael asked in panic.

Michelangelo ran into the kitchen with the portable defibrillator.

"Charging!" Donatello said as he grabbed the needle attachment. Their plastrons were too thick, so it was possible that the charge would not completely penetrate. "His heart is beating too fast." He said as the machine beeped, indicating a full charge. He jammed the electrified needles above and to the side of Leonardo's plastron sending a low electrical current directly into his heart. He looked at the heart monitor desperately. Leonardo's heart began to slow. He pulled the needles out putting them aside as he turned his focus once again to his brother's leg. He slowly removed the lower clamp. He then slowly released the top clamp searching for any signs that the sutures were not going to hold. A small bit of blood began to slowly seep between a few of the sutures. Donatello felt himself grow ill. "Time!" He shouted as his gaze never left Leonardo's prone form.

"Three minutes." Came Raphael's grim reply.

_He could do this._ He said to himself as he placed a clamp above and below the sutures and shakily inserted a few more stitches, praying that this time they would hold. He eased off the lower clamp and then the upper, watching anxiously. The knot in his shoulders eased slightly as the sutures appeared to be holding. "We have to wait 5 minutes. If he doesn't begin bleeding again I can begin wrapping the artery and stitching up the wound." He said as he continued to monitor his brother, removing the ice filled towels they had packed around him.

Donatello heard the timer on the stove go off.

"Donny!" Michelangelo yelled in anguish.

"Put another 3 minutes on the clock Mikey." Donatello said calmly. His brother's leg would be fine now that their was blood flowing to it. But he still had to wait to see if the sutures held.

Donatello heard the timer go off. He let out a sigh of relief as the sutures appeared to be holding.

He gently but firmly wrapped his brother's artery in vascular mesh and then proceeded to stitch his brother's leg closed, one layer at a time.

* * *

><p><strong>Michelangelo<strong> turned his attention from Donatello back to Barry. "The ambulance is here." He said as he took the oxygen mask off of Katherine's face. "Put this mask on Raph. There is honey in the pantry, use it on his hands and wrap them in gauze." Barry picked Katherine gently up off the island. "Katherine trusts you?" Barry asked him.

Michelangelo nodded as his gaze strayed to Raphael who was bent over coughing.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Barry said as he walked quickly from the kitchen. He heard the door being opened and some commotion and then the house went silent but for Raphael's hacking coughs and the steady beep of the heart monitoring machine

Michelangelo pulled out a stool from the island. "Raph sit." He ordered as he gave his brother the oxygen mask.

Raphael took the mask and slowly put it over his face.

"It's better if she goes to the hospital Raph." He said to his brother softly.

Raphael nodded but didn't say anything.

Michelangelo studied his brother for a moment and walked to the pantry door. He opened the door and looked around in confusion at the second kitchen. He shook his head and walked into the pantry. He finally managed to find the honey and bring it out to his brother. Raphael had closed his eyes and was partially slumped in his seat. Michelangelo opened the jar of honey, rummaged through Barry's kitchen until he found a spoon. He took his brothers hands as he unwrapped the gauze that Raphael had hastily wrapped around his hands. Michelangelo studied the angry red burns. He slathered honey all over his brother's hands and wrapped them in gauze.

"Raph?" He asked his brother softly. Raphael blearily opened his eyes. Barry hadn't said they couldn't make themselves at home. "Come on, let's get you to bed." He said coaxingly.

Raphael didn't even protest as he helped his brother off the stool. "Where's Kitten?" Raphael mumbled through the oxygen mask.

He blinked at his brother in surprise. "She's safe Raph." He said as he grabbed the oxygen tank and led his brother from the kitchen. He had noticed the living room when he had dashed to the garage and back so he led his brother to the darkened living room, gently helping him to lay down on the couch.

"Get some sleep." He said as he found a blanket and covered his brother up, making sure the oxygen mask was still firmly in place. He would have Donatello check Raphael later to see if he could take him off the oxygen.

Michelangelo slowly walked back to the kitchen. Exhaustion was beginning to drag him down. He wanted to curl up and go to sleep, the earlier adrenaline having worn off, leaving him exhausted, but he couldn't because Donatello may need his help.

He sat down on the stool Raphael had vacated, and watched Donatello as he worked on his brother, the steady beep of the heart monitor lulling him to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Donatello<strong> placed the final stitch in Leonardo's leg. "I need some sort of brace or removable cast of some sort." He said as he put a thick pad over the wound and began wrapping it in layers of gauze. He nodded to himself satisfied. He changed the IV bag and attached a new bag of blood. He still needed to set his brother's arm and look at his back where he had suffered some mild burns. He gently removed the damp cloth he had placed over the burns, which were close to his shell. The burns were an angry red colour and had begun to blister. There was a jar of honey next to his bag. He wasn't sure when that had happened, but he slathered some on his burns and bandaged him up as best as he could.

He looked at his brother's arm. He prodded it delicately. He could tell there was some bone displacement. He pulled Leonardo's arm and cracked the bones back into place. He rummaged through his bag and found a sleeve. He placed it over his brother's broken arm and then dug out the fiberglass casting tape. He wrapped one layer and then the next around his brother's arm and waited until it was set. "That will have to do until we get him back to the lair. We'll need to move him, get him warm, and keep his leg straight." Donatello said wearily as he looked over his shoulder at the clock. Leo's surgery had taken him a little over 5 hours and he felt as if he was ready to drop. He noted that the island was empty and so was the kitchen. Everyone was gone except Michelangelo. Michelangelo walked over to him and handed him a cast that he had found amongst Barry's medical supplies. It would start at the thigh, wrap around his waist and end at his foot. He got Michelangelo to help him gently negotiate Leonardo's leg into the cast. When he was finally finished he breathed a sigh of relief.

It was then that his brain caught up with his eyes as his head snapped back around and looked at the island's granite countertop in horror. It was covered in blood and although he knew Katherine was gone he wasn't sure where she had gone to.

"Where's Katherine?" He asked as his heart sank into his stomach.

Michelangelo was silent for a moment. "We did everything we could Donny." Michelangelo said in a soft voice.

Donatello felt his vision go black. Katherine's injuries hadn't looked that serious. _He hadn't known_. He thought to himself as a wave of black sticky guilt rolled through him. He felt Michelangelo clutch at him as he felt himself begin to fall.

"Barry took her to the hospital." Michelangelo said hastily. "I don't know if she's okay or not, but she had smoke inhalation and a collapsed lung at the very least. Barry was worried about her head. That's what bled so much. She was still unconscious when he took her."

Donatello let himself breathe a little. "Where's Raph?" He asked shakily.

"On the couch. Smoke inhalation. I have him on oxygen and bandaged up his hands. He seemed a little confused all of a sudden. He asked where Katherine was even though he let Barry take her to the hospital." Michelangelo said with worry.

Donatello nodded thoughtfully. "It was the smoke inhalation. I'll take a look at him."

"Then you are going to get some rest Donny." Michelangelo said sternly.

He blinked in shock at the tone in his baby brother's voice, but nodded. "After we move Leo." He acknowledged with a nod.

"Is Leo going to be alright Donny?" Michelangelo asked softly. "Is Kitten?"

"Leo will get better eventually, but I don't know about Kitten, all we can do is wait." He told his brother softly as he looked at Katherine's spilled blood on the countertop. He rushed to his bag, took out a syringe, and a blood collecting test tube. "But maybe I could run a few tests." He said as he used the syringe to take a sample of Katherine's blood from the countertop. He had some equipment in the truck. He could run a few blood tests, check the oxygen levels in her blood, her white and red cell counts and perhaps even discover what was wrong with her before a building blew up around her.

* * *

><p>Thoughts? Opinopns? Still curious how they survived?;)<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

**A big thank you once again to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter and for lettting me use her for a sounding board for ideas and sounding back with very good ideas of her own. Also thank you for the medical knowledge info, very much appreciated!**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers chibiwolf33, Kaaayyytteee, Icewcreampopstar, moopnie016 and Rocky181=)**

**A/N this chapter ended up being a little long...**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 10<span>

**Raphael's** head shot up as he heard the opening of a door. He shook his head as he tried to remember where he was and what had happened. Light streamed in brightly through large open windows. Memory flooded through him as he rolled to his feet. He was no longer wearing the oxygen mask, so Raphael had to assume that sometime during the night Donatello or Michelangelo had removed it.

Michelangelo, who looked to have been sleeping on a loveseat across from him, his brother leaping to his feet as well.

Raphael and his brother dove behind the couch. "Where's Leo and Donny?" Raphael whispered to Michelangelo.

"Upstairs. We put Leo in the first bedroom on the right." Michelangelo answered quietly as they peeked sround the sofa to see Barry close the door behind him and lean against it with his eyes closed. He looked exhausted and pulled.

Raphael stood up slowly, Michelangelo shadowing his movement.

Barry didn't notice them at first. He slowly walked into the living room, every line of his body screaming defeat. Raphael glanced up as he saw Donatello slowly and quietly make his way down the sweeping staircase.

"So?" Raphael growled in irritation. He knew that whatever news Barry had was not good, so he clung to his anger, because it was the only way he could still manage to function.

Barry turned and quickly drew a gun, pointing it levelly at Raphael. Barry blinked in surprise as he looked as if he was surprised that they were still there, or hadn't believed they were real.

"Jumpy much?" Raphael growled.

Barry put up his gun and slid it back into the inside of his jacket. "There was part of me that was wonderin' if this wasn't all a dream." He said as his voice slipped into a southern drawl.

"How is Katherine?" Michelangelo asked softly as his brother put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Barry walked past them and went to a sideboard, throwing a newspaper down on the dark polished wood. He was silent as he poured himself a glass of brown liquor from a decanter. Rye? Whisky? Scotch? Raphael wasn't sure.

Barry took a swig and placed the glass down on the polished wooden surface beside him. "I wasn't able to see her after I dropped her off at the hospital. She was rushed into surgery and then to the ICU. Only family is allowed in, but I was able to talk to one of the doctors." Barry paused before he continued. "Katherine is in a severe coma. As far as they can tell there is no damage to the brain stem and I didn't understand the rest of the medical jargen." He began, his southern drawl gradually vanishing. "Basically she is not doing very well, but she is stable. Her right lung had collapsed, but the tear was minor. She has mild burns and smoke inhalation, but they are more concerned about the head injury and any brain damage that may accompany it."

"If Kitten's alive, she'll be fine. She's the strongest person I've ever met." Raphael said with determination. _She would be fine_. He told himself. He had to believe that she would be fine and would recover, because if she didn't, he didn't think he would ever be able to forgive himself.

Barry was silent for a few moments before he nodded. "Katherine is safe. No one knows who she really is, and I have a team of specialists monitoring her." Barry said to them. "If Katherine really is in danger, any connection to me might be seen as suspicious, since I was her 'date' last night. So I have Deon checking in on her periodically. He's a good guy, good doctor. Just came back with me from Bosnia so he was just hanging around waiting for something interesting to happen. I didn't tell him about you, because he wouldn't have believed me if I had, and he doesn't know who Katherine is, and even if he figures it out, he won't tell. He knows better." Barry rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. "And I know it's been a long night, but I would like an explanation as to what is going on." He said, a hint of irritation lacing his voice.

Raphael couldn't help the frustrated growl that rumbled low in his throat. He felt completely helpless. His brother was unconscious upstairs, and Katherine was who knew where getting medical treatment, which he appreciated and was thankful for, but he couldn't even see if she was okay.

He couldn't even hold her hand and tell her to be strong and fight to wake up. He couldn't tell her how much he loved her and needed her, and that he was sorry for every stupid idiotic thing that either came out of his mouth or did. He wanted to tell her he would share her with his brother for the rest of their lives if she never walked away from him ever again, because he needed her. He needed her like he needed to breathe. She was the only thing that made his life seem like it was worth living the way they had to, because she loved him. Katherine was the one who had made him truly realize that it didn't matter that the humans didn't know he and his brothers existed and protected the City of New York and the world more times than he could count, because Katherine knew. And she was more important than a billion humans knowing.

Raphael had never believed a woman would ever be able to look at him with anything but repulsion, but Katherine looked at him with eyes that understood him down to the very deepest, blackest depths of his soul, and loved him anyway. He knew she was too good for him. He knew it with every fibre of his being, but he wanted to be good enough for her. She made him a better version of himself. Without her he was just a boat drifting on a sea of anger, bitterness and hate.

He clutched his hands together in frustration and winced in pain as his burns screamed in blazing fury."My brother's life is hanging by a thread and my girlfriend, who I can't even visit, is in a coma." He stated angrily. "You think I feel like playin' 20 questions right now?" He growled.

"Raph." Donatello said sharply.

Raphael let out an angry breath, crossing his arms over his chest. "Donny, go get some rest." He said to his brother. "I'll look after Leo for a bit. Mikey can play 20 questions." He said as he turned his attention back to Barry. "We made ourselves at home. Leo's in one of the bedrooms upstairs. We'll be leavin' soon, so don't worry." He said as he left the living room and slowly made his way upstairs to where Donatello was still standing on the stairs. Donatello walked ahead of him as his younger brother led him to Leonardo.

Each step he took towards Leonardo's room felt like he was dragging lead weights instead of his feet. He didn't want to see Leonardo lying in bed, unconscious and helpless.

He stopped at the door and forced himself to look inside. His eyes took in the rich gold and red decor, and the king sized, dark wood bed that dominated the room. But his entire focus was upon the broken figure that lay pale against the white sheets in front of him.

"Why isn't he awake yet Donny?" He asked in the barest choked whisper.

Donatello was silent a moment before speaking. "He's doing better Raph." Donatello replied gently.

"How bad is Leo really Donny?" Raphael asked in a pained voice.

Donatello sighed and rubbed his eyes. He entered the room and flopped down in a chair that had been dragged beside the bed. "He's stable for now. All we can do now is wait." He answered.

"I ain't good at waitin' Donny." Raphael growled.

Donatello nodded. "I know Raph. Truthfully though, Leo's lucky to be alive. His body has suffered extensive damage. Broken arm, ribs, burns and his artery being nicked." Donatello shook his head. "If there are no complications it is possible that he could be unconscious for a week, possibly two. If you want to get technical, Leo's in a coma right now. His body will heal, but he won't be able to move for a month, and after that he will need extensive physiotherapy to strengthen his muscles. Leo is alive, but his recovery is going to be long and painful." Donatello said softly as he stood.

Raphael looked at Leonardo's slack, pale face. His mouth was partially opened with the tube shoved down his throat, the machine breathing for him. The steady beep of the heat monitor was comforting and terrifying at the same time. At least the damn thing would beep if there was anything wrong, which was oddly comforting. The fact that his brother needed the machine was terrifying.

Only once before had his brother been close to as bad as he was at this moment, and that was when he had been badly beaten by the foot clan. They had watched over their brother and talked to him, trying to bring him back, and it had worked. This time, Leonardo was so, so much worse. His brother had died. For a brief moment in time his brother had been dead, and that terrified him on levels he hadn't even known existed.

Leonardo was the strong one, the perfect one, the invincible one. Leonardo was the brother who never made a mistake, who could get out of any situation. He was their leader, their older brother, and as much as he hated to admit it, especially to himself, he looked up to Leonardo. He had always wanted to be Leonardo, but he knew he could never measure up to Leonardo or his exacting standards.

But he knew deep down that his brother wasn't perfect, nobody is. Leonardo made mistakes and Leonardo never tried to hold them to the exacting standards that he held himself to. Raphael had always believed Leonardo thought he was better than the rest of them. But Raphael now knew differently. Leonardo didn't believe he was better, he just wanted to make himself better, because Leonardo needed to be the best. Not because he wanted to be better than everyone, but because he felt too much responsibility for all of them. If Leonardo failed it wasn't because he wasn't good enough, it was because something else had happened.

And in this case, Leonardo had failed because his arm had given out on him. His own body had failed him, and Raphael knew this knowledge would crush him.

Raphael sat down in the seat by the bed as Donatello curled up into a fancy high backed couch of some sort that was set up by the window. Donatello glanced at Leonardo's IV and sat back up. "He needs more blood. I'll get Mikey to go to the lair and pick some up." Donatello mumbled as he left the room for a moment.

Raphael glanced outside and thought that it was incredibly wrong for it to be so damn bright and sunny when he felt so heartwrenchingly miserable, and he wanted the sky and weather outside to reflect this feeling.

Donatello flopped back down on the couch and curled up, his head resting on his arm as he fought to stay awake. "Just go to sleep genius, I'll wake you up if anything changes." Raphael growled.

"M'kay Raph." Donatello mumbled as his body began to relax and his brother's eyes finally drifted closed. He wastched his little brother for a few moments as his breathing became deeper and more even. The worry lines that had been etched into his brother's face relaxed as he slept.

Raphael turned his attention from the window and looked at his brother's lifeless form. Leonardo barely clinging to life made him realize that his brother wasn't invincible. He could be hurt...even be killed. He hated seeing his brother vulnerable. There was never anything vulnerable about his sharp tongued, stubborn, condescending, stuffy, big brother.

He reached out and gently took his brother's good left hand in his. He looked at the IV in the back of his hand and in the crook of his elbow.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but you're scaring the hell out of me big bro." Raphael said shakily. "I almost lost you, and Kitten..." His said in a choked voice as he reached out and touched the white bandage that lay starkly across his brother's cheek. He pulled his hand back as he swallowed the in his throat before he was bale to continue. "Kitten's not doin' so good." He paused as he lay his head down beside his brother's cold, limp hand. He closed his eyes for a moment before he continued, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother's battered and bruised face. "You ever tell anyone what I am about to say, and I'll deny it." He said roughly as he hastily wiped away a tear that had somehow managed to escape. "I'm scared Leo.I am so scared. We almost lost you and Kiten back there." He said with a hitch in his voice. "Leo, I ain't a leader. How am I supposed to keep everyone safe?" He asked his brother. "I have no idea what's going on or who managed to grab you an' Kittten..." Raphael shook his head. "I need you to get better so you can make everything right." He brushed away more tears in frustration as he picked his head up off the bed.

He clasped his brother's hand more tightly in his own. "You're gonna be fine, you hear me Leo?" He told his brother vehemently. "And so is Kitten. I need to believe that you two are gonna pull through, cause the thought that one or both of you isn't gonna make it ..." Raphael couldn't continue this dark thought as he bit back a sob that escaped his lips. "You can't...die." He told his brother. "Even when your heart stopped, you fought to come back and Kitten fought too. She fought to live because we need her, just like we need you. So all you have to do right now, is focus on getting better, so we can fight over Kitten again. Okay?" He said to his silent brother, the beep of the heart monitor and the exhalation noise of the ventilator were his only answer. He buried his face in the bedsheet and gave into his tears, because sometimes, it was so hard to hang onto hope.

* * *

><p><strong>Michelangelo<strong> watched Raphael's retreating back as he slowly walked up the stairs to the room where they had put Leonardo.

Michelangelo turned his attention back to their reluctant host. "Sorry about that." He apologized for his brother. "Raph's just worried, and when Raph gets worried, or scared or tired or...well almost any emotion, Raph reacts with anger. He doesn't mean it though." He said to Barry with a shrug.

Barry nodded and walked a few steps away from the sideboard.

"So what do you want to know?" Michelangelo asked as he sat down on the couch Raphael had vacated.

Barry grabbed the newspaper and sat down across from him. He placed the newspaper beside him and ran a hand through his longish, dark blonde hair, messing it up.

"I don't know, how about we start with what you are and how you know Katherine, and work our way up to why someone blew up a building with Katherine inside."

"You'd better get comfy, this could take a while." Michelangelo told him.

"I'm comfy." He said rubbing his bloodshot blue eyes with his thumb and index finger.

"Hey Mikey." Donatello called down from the upper floor. "Leo needs more blood. Can you run back to the lair and grab some?" Donatello asked.

Michelangelo groaned. He wasn't fit to drive. He looked at Barry. Barry wasn't fit to drive either. "Sure Donny." He answered wearily.

"But don't take the truck. Just in case. We don't want to attract any attention." Donatello put in.

Michelangelo stood. "I don't suppose you have another vehicle?" Michelangelo asked Barry. Barry looked at him in confusion. "You want to know what's going on, you come with me. I'm too tired to drive by myself. I need someone to keep me awake."

Barry stood. "Deon met me at the hospital and drove me back to my car. The fire department was still trying to put the fire out." Barry said as he shoved the paper into Michelangelo's chest. "Two more explosions ripped through the building after it fell." He said as he made his way to the door that led to the front door. Michelangelo grabbed his coat slipping his hat and glasses on as he followed at Barry's heels.

"The little girl made it home safe though." Barry said as he walked out the front door into the sunshine. His black Bugatti Sang Noir sat in the frosted driveway.

Michelangelo felt himself drool. He wasn't a 'car' person. That was more Raphael's thing, but he was male and could appreciate a sweet ride. That, and the thought of telling Raph that he rode in a Bugatti filled him up to the brim with malicious glee.

He whistled his appreciation.

Barry tossed him the keys. "I'll assume you can drive. Just don't get pulled over?" Barry said as he walked around to the passenger side.

"You want me to drive?" Michelangelo asked, looking at the keys in shock.

"I don't want to roll my car. I figure that you can drive better than I can since you probably piloted some weird spaceship to get here."

"Not an alien." Michelangelo said as he opened the door exposing the bright orange interior. He grinned. He liked this car even better. He slid into the driver's seat as Barry opened the passenger side door and stumbled ungracefully inside.

"Dude, you'd better stay awake...Wait, what girl?" Michelangelo asked in confusion as he started up the car.

He listened to the engine purr for a moment before he concentrated on Barry's words.

"The little girl who was in the building with the guy I shot at." Barry answered wearily.

"Wait, what? You mean you shot the dude who was holding Kitten and Leo?" Michelangelo asked in shock as he put the car in gear.

"I shot at him. I think I hit his hand. He let the girl go and he ran. The little girl told me that 'the bad man made the pretty lady shoot the turtle man.' That sentence makes so much more sense now." Barry mumbled almost to himself.

Michelangelo's eyes widened in shock as he drove slowly out of the wrought iron gate that surrounded Barry's property.

Michelangelo had been too busy being worried about Leonardo's major injuries to pay attention to the minor ones that had covered his brother's body. But he remembered the gash across Leonardo's neck. It hadn't been a result of the explosion. It had been given to Leonardo before the explosion, by Katherine. His mind tried to connect the pieces of why there was a little girl and why Katherine had shot and nearly killed Leonardo the same way she had killed Hun. He also wondered who had taken Leonardo and Katherine in the first place and why? He sighed to himself. There were too many questions and not enough answers. "You didn't happen to get a look at this guy?" Michelangelo asked.

Barry shook his head. "It was dark." He answered in frustration. "Do you know who he was and why he had Katherine and your..." Barry paused.

"Brother." Michelangelo said finishing his sentence for him. "I probably know, but I'm too tired to think right now." Michelangelo said as he concentrated on actually staying within the speed limit while driving the powerful car. They did not need to be pulled over for speeding. "We're mutant turtles." Michelangelo said into the silence of the car. "Started life as baby turtles, mutated by an alien mutagen."

"I knew there had to be aliens involved somehow." Barry said, his voice slipping into a Southern drawl.

Michelangelo laughed. "Let me guess, it's because we're green." Michelangelo asked.

"Somethin' like that." Barry answered, no longer concentrating on keeping the Southern out of his voice anymore. "So you know Katherine how...?" Barry asked. "And please tell me she isn't an alien."

Michelangelo laughed. "She's not an alien. Though you wouldn't know the Utroms weren't human. They have these suits because they kinda look like slugs..." Michelangelo looked at Barry who was looking at him with eyes the size of saucers. "Never mind. Anyway, Kitten saved Raph's life. He did a dumpster dive from the top of a 4 story building after he had the crap beat out of him by a bunch of low life Purple Dragon scum." Michelangelo said darkly, bitterness replacing his good humour.

Barry frowned. "I recognize that gang name. Wasn't their leader found killed in a dumpster a couple months back?"

"Yeah." Michelangelo said softly.

"So you...?" Barry let the sentence hang.

"Wish I did. I only performed the body dump." Michelangelo said with a shrug.

A few minutes ago Michelangelo had felt ready to drop, now, dark thoughts and memories crowded into his head filling him with too many emotions to feel tired anymore. "Long story short," He began as he pushed the dark thoughts and emotions away, his natural good humour reasserting itself. "Kitten dragged Raph back to her place, nursed him back to health. He couldn't remember who he was, but we managed to find him after a month of believing he was dead. Anyway, you can imagine that Raph fell for Kitten, hard." Michelangelo paused as he reflected upon this fact.

Barry made a snorting sound.

Michelangelo smiled. "Kitten's pretty hard to resist. You only spent a few hours with her and you are already more than just interested." He said as he slid his eyes from the road to look at Barry, a half smile on his face.

Barry coughed and almost blushed.

Michelangelo chuckled.

"So do they have a King Kong, Fay Rae type relationship?" Barry asked him.

Michelangelo laughed at the image in his head of an overlarge Raphael climbing a New York skyscraper with Katherine clutched in his fist as he angrily warded off fighter planes. "Raph would totally do that." He said with a grin, but lost it when he thought about his brother's relationship with Katherine.

"They aren't really...?" Barry asked.

This annoyed Michelangelo. "You don't think that Kitten could fall for a mutant turtle?" He asked softly.

Barry opened his mouth changed his mind and closed it, seeming to think about the question. "Katherine is unlike any woman I've ever met. I like her because she is different."

"That's because Kitten strips away all of the lies, even the ones you tell yourself. It's her superpower." Michelangelo said with a smile that vanished as quickly as it appeared as he remembered that Katherine was laying in a hospital bed somewhere in a coma.

"Yes." Barry said softly.

Michelangelo looked at Barry in confusion.

"Yes I believe that she could fall in love with a mutant turtle...maybe just not _that_ mutant turtle." Barry said with a shrug.

Michelangelo smiled. "Don't let Raph's crusty exterior fool you, he's got a very tiny gooey center. You really have to search for it, but it's there." Michelangelo said with a grin but turned serious. "They broke up over 2 weeks ago." Michelangelo put it. "Or I suppose they took a break. I don't know. It's complicated. Of course then Raph and Leo lied to her and she flat out hasn't talked to any of us for two weeks."

"So your brother is one of those guys that can't take 'no' for an answer?" Barry asked.

"It's not that. I told you, it's complicated." Michelangelo defended lamely.

"I'm not Facebook." Barry pointed out. "I don't recognize 'It's complicated' as a real relationship status.

Michelangelo sighed dramatically under his breath. "They had a fight so Kitten broke up with Raph. He really shouldn't have pushed her, but Raph is too stubborn and he can be an idiot sometimes."

Barry frowned. "I didn't think Katherine was the type to just, break up with someone because she didn't get her way. Did she break up with him often?" Barry with curiosity.

"Uh...no." Michelangelo said as he thought about it. Not that he had blamed Katherine for breaking up with Raphael and Leonardo after what Raphael had said about her having had enough time to recover after Hun tortured her, but breaking up with them was a little out of character for her. Even if she did want to see if she could sleep and be on her own, she didn't have to break up with them, she could have just asked them to leave and give her a little space. He shook his head. But then Leo and Raph had lied about the reason they needed to go back to the lair, and Katherine had to go and save them. She had been so pissed.

"Do you know what they fought about?" Barry asked.

"Why? You want to make sure you don't make the same stupid mistake?" Michelangelo asked slyly raising an eyeridge in question.

Barry began to stammer out a denial.

"Do you have a brother?" Michelangelo asked him.

Barry halted his thought process. "No." He said in confusion.

"Then you're good." Michelangelo said as he took the winter hat from his head and tossed it to Barry. "Put it on. This is where you don't get to learn the location to the secret Bat Cave, or in this case, Turtle Lair."

Barry looked at him. "Seriously?" He asked.

"Yup." Michelangelo said with a grin.

Barry looked at the wool hat and placed to over his head and down over his eyes. "This is ridiculous." Barry said, his voice straying back along his more familiar west coast accent.

"P.S. you are talking to a giant mutant turtle, ridiculous went out the window a long time ago." Michelangelo pointed out.

"Touché" Barry replied, west coast accent firmly in place.

"Why do you change your accent?" Michelangelo asked suddenly as he negotiated the tunnel that led into the lair.

"Because people think that if you are a man and talk with a twang, you are an idiot hillbilly." Barry said a little bitterly.

Michelangelo shrugged and realized that Barry couldn't see the movement. "Who cares what people think?" Michelangelo asked, but didn't give Barry the chance to reply as he announced that they were here.

Barry opened his door and slid from the car as he took in the garage. "You have a helicopter." He said in an incredulous voice.

"Yeah, yeah, helicopter, and I think there is a submarine around here somewhere too." Michelangelo said as he waved his hand. "You want a tour?" He asked over his shoulder.

"It smells a little…" Barry said as he frowned and looked around.

"Yes well, it isn't like we can rent a posh Manhattan penthouse you know." Michelangelo pointed out. "Your house may be fancy, but our place is awesome." Michelangelo said with a smile as he walked from the garage into the main room with its circular pool of water and Donatello's giant computer.

Barry looked around the lair with awe. "Bet my PVR can record more shows than your PVR." Michelangelo said with a laugh at Barry's stunned expression. "Training area is over there, kitchen, living room, with all my games, bathroom, and bedrooms." Michelangelo said pointing at each in turn. "You play video games?' Michelangelo asked as he headed to his favourite spot on the couch in the living room.

"I don't really have the time." Barry mumbled. "Plus I'm 28 years old."

Michelangelo shrugged. "I'm 26 doesn't mean I can't read comics or play video games. Kitten plays video games with me if I ask."

"She's only 21." Barry replied as he studied a few of Donatello's inventions.

"I wouldn't touch that. With Donny's inventions you never know if it is something that pops better popcorn, or will pop you into another dimension…or pop you into little pieces the size of popcorn."Michelangelo finished thoughtfully.

Barry pulled his hand away from the chunk of metal as if it was going to attack him.

"Donny's a genius, as in an actual genius. Anyway, I need to think for a minute and the best way to do that is to play some War Machine 5." He said as he threw a game controller at Barry.

Michelangelo flopped down on his favourite spot on the couch. "We'll play for twenty minutes then head back." Michelangelo said as he began following the game prompts and choosing his character.

Barry slumped down beside him. "Why do you need to think?" He asked. "And can we play something else that isn't a combat shooter game? I've seen enough of the real thing without wanting to play it for fun." He said softly.

Michelangelo flicked a glance at Barry and back at the screen. "You want to know why Kitten had a building dropped on her?" He asked as he began playing the game, Barry's character holding up Michelangelo's.

"Yes." Barry said.

"Then play the game. I told you, I need to think, and besides, I need to know if we can trust you. You seem like a nice guy, and Kitten seemed to like you..."

"Really?" Barry asked.

"So I have to know if you've got our backs. Besides knowing us is...dangerous." Michelangelo finished quietly as Barry's character finally began walking behind his.

"So if knowing you is so dangerous, why is Kit...Katherine..."

Michelangelo paused the game and looked at Barry seriously. Barry's words halted. Michelangelo tapped his finger on the controller as his mind began assembling pieces of the puzzle in his head. Because he was the laid back goofball of the group, his brothers never really gave him enough credit when it came to thinking, and that was fine. He liked surprising them every now and then. But since Leo was out of commission and Donny was too busy looking after Leo, and Raph (not that he was a big thinker) was too busy being angry and filled with too much guilt to be helpful, Michelangelo knew he had to pick up the slack.

"There was a little girl who told you that Kitten shot Leo." Michelangelo muttered thoughtfully. Michelangelo un-paused the game and turned his attention back to the screen.

"To your right." Barry said suddenly. "There are two gunmen hiding behind the bluff and two soldiers with dogs to the left.

Michelangelo was impressed. Video games and real life were completely different.

"Was the little girl with the guy?" Michelangelo asked as he shot at the soldiers on the right.

"She was being held hostage." Barry replied as he took out the soldiers and the dogs on the right.

"Kitten shot Leo and she could have killed him, but why? And who would...?" Michelangelo's eyes widened as he dropped his controller to the floor. "We have to go." He said as he leapt up from the couch.

"Kitten is in a lot of danger. Whoever took her knows she killed Hun and wants revenge."

Barry stood suddenly. "Wait, what?" He asked in confusion as his cell phone rang. He answered it automatically. "Hello?" He asked. "Mrs. Wraith!" He said in surprise.

Michelangelo blinked in shock.

"Yes, I did have a very good time." Barry paused for a moment. "But...No, I would never doubt you, I just don't trust my mother when it comes to these sort of things." Barry paused again as he listened to Katherine's mom. "Mrs. Wraith I...No I haven't talked to her this morning..." Barry said awkwardly because Katherine was in a coma and not talking. "Mrs. Wraith, I have some bad news." Barry said softly. "No, no I would love to see her again, but..."

"Barry give me the phone." Michelangelo said to him.

Barry glanced at him and turned slightly. "Mrs. Wraith Katherine is..." Barry never got to finish his sentence as Michelangelo snatched the phone away from Barry's grasp.

"Hey!" Barry protested.

Michelangelo glared at him. "Sheila." Michelangelo said into the phone.

_"Who is this?"_ Katherine's mom said in confusion. "_Wait, I recognize this voice_."

"Yeah it's me Mikey." He said into the phone.

"_Mikey...Mikey...the orange one?"_ Her mother questioned. "_And what are you doing with Barry and his phone?"_

"Yes the orange one." Michelangelo said with suppressed irritation. One thing he had learned about Katherine's mom while she had overstayed her welcome at thanksgiving, was that the woman only _acted_ stupid and she played her part well. However Katherine's mom was, in reality, incredibly astute, observant and intelligent. After meeting Sheila Michelangelo knew where Katherine got it from, but unlike Katherine's mom, Katherine had taken it up a notch to scary astute, incredibly observant and very intelligent.

"Sheila, just pay attention, this is really important." He said into the phone.

"I'm listening." Her mother said, her voice changing from fluffy to steel in a second.

Michelangelo put the phone on speaker. "Kitten's in trouble, deep, deep trouble. I'm not going to lie, Kitten was hurt pretty bad last night. She's in the hospital being well taken care of, but here is the important part," Michelangelo said continuing before Sheila decided to talk. "No one can know that she's in the hospital. That means that you can't go visit her, and neither can Barry. These people want her dead." He said bluntly.

The phone was silent for a few moments. "Leo and Raph said they would protect my daughter. They also said that she was not longer in any danger." Came the biting reply to his blunt statement.

"She wasn't supposed to be. Danger was averted, but whoever 'they' are, have specifically targeted Kitten. And we all tried to keep her safe, but they managed to get her right after the auction. We found her though and Barry took her to the hospital, but no one at the hospital knows who she is and it is better that way. It's better if whoever wants her dead thinks that they succeeded. So I need you to be the strong, incredibly intelligent woman I know you to be, and pretend that you haven't heard from Kitten, but don't become concerned."

"I have already lost one child Michelangelo, I will not lose another." She said in a low, threatening tone.

"I know." Michelangelo said softly.

"Where are Leonardo and Raphael?" Katherine's mother asked. "I would assume that even though she broke up with both of them that they are still hanging around somewhere if you are with Barry.

"Raph's with Leo, Leo..." His voice hitched slightly. "Leo's in bad shape. He almost died, still could die." He said in a choked voice. "These people mean buisness, and are not above hurting or killing anyone who get's in their way."

Katherine's mother was silent. "What does Barry think?" She asked.

Barry looked at Michelangelo, taking the phone from his grasp, but leaving it on speaker. "It's not a bad idea." Barry said into the phone. "It would give us time to figure out who is trying to kill her. But we won't announce to the public that she is dead of course. Katherine leads a rather secluded life so I do not think it would be unusual for her to not be around or for no one to be in contact with her." Barry said.

"I could just find her and take her home." Katherine's mother threatened.

"You could." Michelangelo agreed. "But do you think Kitten would ever stay away?" He asked.

The phone was silent for a moment. "I will expect updates." Sheila's steely voice ordered and then in a voice that was a soft purr she put in. "And Barry dear, tell your mother that she should call me. We need to get together and have tea. Now I have to get back to my shoot, bye!" She said airily.

Barry stared at his phone for a few moments.

"Kitten's mom is a handful, trust me, Thanksgiving was...interesting." Michelangelo said clapping him on the back. "Now let's go." He said as he ran to Donatello's lab to grab blood from the fridge, quickly throwing it in a cooler for transportation. He gave the cooler to Barry as he made his way back to the garage, opening the door of the car and sliding in.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on?" Barry asked as he placed the cooler on his lap.

Michelangelo started up the car and peeled out. "Hat." Michelangelo said to him.

"Really?" Barry asked as he put the hat back on his head and over his eyes.

Michelangelo began to talk. "Kitten shot Leo, and there is no way Kitten would shoot Leo."

"Maybe they threatened her." Barry pointed out. "Careful!" He exclaimed as Michelangelo took a turn too sharply. Barry took off the hat and glared at Michelangelo.

"Sorry." Michelangelo apologized. "And no, Kitten wouldn't shoot Leo, even to save her own life." Michelangelo said softly.

"People do things because people threaten them." Barry said softly.

Michelangelo shook his head as he rummaged around in his pocket.

"Hands on the wheel, and watch where you're going!" Barry said as Michelangelo swerved past a turning taxi.

He threw Barry his phone. "When Raph remembered who he was he realized that because of who and what we are, and because of our enemies, that he couldn't be with Kitten. He didn't want her to be hurt because of him. So Raph walked away, ran actually. Leo left because he had no choice. But we didn't know that Hun had already found her. He wanted her to tell them where we were. Kitten refused. There is only one video on this thing. Have a look, and maybe you'll know the kind of woman you are dealing with." Michelangelo said, unable to keep the sorrow, bitterness and fear from his voice.

Barry frowning, finally managed to find the video of Katherine being tortured by Hun's men. Michelangelo knew the video off by heart. He had sent it to himself so he could remember what she not only went through to protect them, but also to remind himself what danger a woman could face if he dared to love her.

Barry was pale and shaking by the time he finished with his phone.

"Raph and Leo promised themselves they would never leave her again, unless she wanted them gone. That is why Kitten is in our lives." Michelangelo said softly.

"You said that she killed Hun. Was he the guy that did this to her?" Barry asked quietly.

"No, that guy is out there somewhere, livin his life. Hun was their boss, and the only reason that he ended up dead was because he wouldn't take the hint and leave. Instead he tried to kill Leo, so she killed him."

Barry stared blankly at the phone.

"Kitten doesn't do revenge. She would have let all of them go, and she did, all but Hun made it out alive. Later she made all of us promise that we wouldn't get revenge on any of the Purple Dragons. We agreed."

"So the gang wants revenge?" Barry asked.

Michelangelo shook his head. "The Purple Dragons are involved in gang war squabbling right now, if they even still exist. The thing is, whoever did this, tried to get Kitten to kill Leo the same way she killed Hun."

"So they gave her a gun and told her to shoot him?" Barry asked.

"See that's the thing, Kitten didn't use a gun to kill Hun, she used a bow and arrows. The lacerations were only warning shots, trying to get Hun to leave. Her last shot took out Hun's jugular. So whoever orchestrated this, knew what weapon to use, and knew Kitten wouldn't shoot Leo, even if they threatened to killed her. So how do you get someone to kill someone else if they know the person has absolutely no sense of self preservation?"

"Threaten to kill someone else." Barry said as he came to the same conclusion he already had.

"Exactly, kill Leo or I kill this kid. Kitten shoots Leo, but manages not to kill him somehow, and the building goes boom, several times, erasing all evidence of bodies, or of anything happening in there." Michelangelo said with disgust. "And it bothered Raph that they specifically targeted Leo, and not any of us. I guess we now know why." Michelangelo said bitterly.

"Because he was the reason Hun was killed." Barry said with a nod.

Michelangelo shook his head. "No. Because whoever was pulling the strings thought that Leo was the one who Kitten loved, and knew it would hurt her even more to kill the man she loved."

"So they grabbed the wrong brother." Barry put in.

Michelangelo shook his head again. "Not exactly."

Barry frowned. "Katherine broke up with your brother to date...your other brother?" Barry asked in confusion.

"Uh...no." Michelangelo said shaking his head.

"Wait, Katherine's mom said that Katherine..." Barry didn't finish the sentence.

"I told you it was complicated." Michelangelo pointed out.

"She was dating them both? At the same time!" Barry said incredulous.

"Not important."Michelangelo said waving his hand in dismissal. "The important part is that no one knew that Katherine was dating either of them, but a certain person suspected that Leo and Kitten had _something_, but they couldn't confirm it."

"I'm getting confused." Barry said pushing a hand through his already dishevelled locks.

"Well this is the good news part, because now we know that either this person is a traitor who sold Kitten out, or there is a traitor in her ranks. Because the conversation where that bit of info was suspected, was supposed to be private. But it's possible that someone else was listening in." Michelangelo said darkly.

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><p>T<strong>houghts and opinions are always welcomed and encouraged!=)<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Again, a big giant than you to Amoraphoenix for Beta reading this chapter, for giving me great tips and knowlegde, and for being my sounding board who gives me great feedback and ideas!=)**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers chibiwolf33, Kaaayyytteee, Icecreampopstar and mela989898**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 11<span>

** Michelangelo** worried at his lip as he drove back to Barry's house. Barry was frowning at him from the passenger seat.

"What?" Michelangelo asked as he concentrated on the road.

"I just..." Barry shook his head. "I just can't imagine Katherine being capable of killing someone." Barry said softly.

"Well according to Kitten , everyone is capable of anything, if the situation is right." Michelangelo said as he let his eyes slide to Barry.

Barry nodded slowly as he absorbed Michelangelo's words. "She's a wise woman for her age." Barry observed.

Michelangelo nodded. "I haven't met many humans, but I'm pretty sure I could meet millions of them and never find one like Kitten." He agreed. "But...the thing is...how much can one person take?" He asked in the barest whisper. "Does she hate us yet?" He asked himself softly. "Did she gaze at Leo with hatred as she strung and fired each arrow? Does she regret even knowing us?" He whispered, his mind filled with the torment of knowing what Katherine had suffered since she had been brought into their lives.

"I don't know." Barry replied softly even thought Michelangelo hadn't been asking Barry's opinion.

Michelangelo's voice wavered with pent up emotion. "Because of us, Hun tortured her for a week. A whole week she was at the mercy of that mad man. She would wake up in the middle of the night screaming in terror." Michelangelo swallowed down the bile that always rose in his throat when he remembered what Katherine had to endure because of them, and because Raphael hadn't answered his phone sooner. His vision blurred as tears threatened to fall. He forced himself to blink back the tears because he wasn't going to bawl in front of a complete stranger.

"If what we are guessing is true, and they were threatening to kill that little girl if Katherine didn't kill your brother, then Katherine took a huge risk by _not _killing him." Barry pointed out.

"I know, but that's just who Katherine is. She tried to save everyone, and I guess she did. But that doesn't mean that she doesn't hate us." He whispered softly. "And now Leo's hanging onto life by a thread and Kitten's in a coma..."

"Katherine's is getting the best possible care that she can have, and your brother seems to know what he's doing in regards to Leo." Barry said to him.

"I know, but...someone is trying to kill her. And we don't even know who."

"But you said you have a lead. Why don't you tell me? I might be able to help." Barry insisted.

Michelangelo flicked a glance to Barry and back again to the road. "The last thing we need is to bring someone else into this. These people are killers." Michelangelo said seriously.

Barry snorted. "Well it might be nice to have someone from home trying to kill me, rather than people a world away trying to do it."

Michelangelo sighed. It wasn't as if Barry was just some rich kid. He was a rich kid with military-like training under his belt. "How much do you know about Gangs of New York."

"Horrible movie, I will never get those three hours back." Barry said with a slight smile.

Michelangelo smiled and nodded, liking Barry better for trying to cheer him up, and being able to catch the _actual _question he had asked.

Barry turned serious as he thought about the underlying question. "Not a lot." He admitted truthfully.

Michelangelo nodded and began to fill Barry in on the Purple Dragons, Karai and 'The Face'.

"So let me get this straight." Barry said ticking points off on his fingers."Karai Saki's father, Oroku Saki was an alien slug, who is now gone. So Karai has taken over the 'family' business, which involves ninjas, but she isn't evil anymore, and you have a sort of truce with her. And Hun, the Purple Dragon's leader, used to have an alliance with Karai, but Hun is dead which means that another gang lord called 'The Face' is muscling in on New York trying to take Karai and any gangs allied with her down?"

"Yup, that's about it." Michelangelo said with a nod.

Barry whistled. "No wonder you wanted to keep Katherine out of this. But do you really think Karai is the one who tried to blow Katherine and your brother up?" Barry asked. "I saw them together at the Auction and I didn't get the impression that they even knew one another."

Michelangelo frowned as he thought over the question. "Would Karai betray us...yes. I wouldn't put anything past her."

Barry was silent for a moment. "Having Katherine shoot your brother and then blow them up seems...personal to me. Would Karai do this? Is she angry enough at you to have orchestrated this?"

Michelangelo shook his head. "Karai is kinda a cold fish. She would have just killed Leo and Katherine. It wouldn't be an elaborate set up like it was."

"So more personal. Someone who is very upset at Katherine because she killed Hun. Someone wanted her to suffer before she died." Barry observed.

Michelangelo nodded his head. "Unless Karai just gave Kitten and Leo to whoever did this and washed her hands of the whole thing."

Barry nodded. "That is a possibility."

Michelangelo sighed in frustration. "Leo gets how Karai's mind works best, but Leo's going to be out of it for a bit. But..." Michelangelo's eyes narrowed in thought. "Kitten bugged Karai, and Kitten was working _with_ Karai on a plan to lure 'The Face' out, which obviously failed. But Donny would have noticed if Karai had been planning to double cross us."

"You said Katherine was working _with_ Karai?" Barry said with surprise. "Like I said those two didn't even act like they knew each other."

"Yeah well, I don't know if they like each other, but Kitten made quite the impression on Karai, let me tell you." Barry looked at him waiting for him to elaborate. So he explained how Leonardo and Raphael went to Karai for help and the resulting events. "Kitten was furious, that Leo and Raph had lied and didn't tell her what they were up to. Kitten hates being protected. Anyway, Kitten went in and saved them. Managed to outmanoeuvre Karai too They really should have known better, but I don't think they ever thought that she wouldn't talk to them, or any of us again." The last was said in a pained mumble.

Barry digested these facts before he asked, "How did she save them?"

"No idea. I mean I know how she did it, but I have no idea _how_ she did it, if that makes any sense. But that was when she proved to Karai how she killed Hun, which means that either Karai blabbed, or there was someone else watching, or Karai betrayed us." He growled a little in frustration. "This is just so confusing and frustrating. I'm just thinking and talking around in circles." Michelangelo said as he pulled up to Barry's house, putting the powerful car in park and turning off the ignition. "Leo's our big brother, our 'Fearless' leader. He's the one who keeps us safe and tells us what to do. Donny's too busy making sure Leo's okay and Raph will just want to get a huge piece of revenge." He put his forehead on the steering wheel and clenched the wheel tightly in his hands. "If Kitten were here, she'd know what to do." He finished softly.

"Do you want some advice?" Barry asked him. Michelangelo shrugged pulling his forehead off the wheel. He didn't care one way or the other. "If I were you, I would look at the situation like a battle or a covert operation. You look at the facts and analyze the situation. one: You are fighting a war against an unknown enemy. Two" over half of your team is out of action at the moment. Three: An ally may be an enemy or have a traitor in their midst. At the moment you are out manned and out manoeuvred. You could confront Karai, but that will just expose you to further harm and place you in the power of your enemy. What you need to do now is heal, regroup and collect intel on your enemy. Information and surprise will be your most important assets and strengths. Lay low, let your enemy believe they succeeded and when they lower their defences, that is when you strike." Barry said to him. "Also if I were you, I would get rid of your phones, all of them. I don't think they would have had the time to bug the lines yet, but if they took both Katherine and Leo's phones, they have access to the numbers of friends, family, and everyone you have ever called.

Michelangelo swallowed. It wasn't as if they had a huge amount of friends sitting in their phones, but Katherine's number, her e-mail and home phone were in their phones, along with April and Casey's numbers. He needed to talk to Donatello. "I need to get this blood to Donny, and talk to him about our phones." He said anxiously as he slid from the leather seat. "Thank you. I really mean that." He said sincerely.

Barry smiled. "I'm just sorry I pointed a gun at you." He said a little sheepishly.

Michelangelo smiled and shrugged. "Apology accepted." He said but turned serious. "We'll see how long it will be before we can safely move Leo, and then we'll be out of your hair." Michelangelo said as he walked around the car and took the cooler from Barry's hands.

Barry was silent for a moment. "Was Katherine really dating both of your brothers?" Barry asked. "I mean, they weren't both...? Can you even...?" Barry didn't finish his questions; instead he left them hanging between them.

Michelangelo sighed. "You're really not going to let your brain get past that one are you? And by the way, ask only the questions you are comfortable getting an answer to."

Barry opened his mouth and closed it again. "I'll just take that as a yes to all three questions." Barry mumbled.

Michelangelo allowed himself a quick smile before his face settled into grim lines. "It's not what you think. There is a reason that she is dating...was dating, both of them. But Kitten loves them, at least she did. Maybe she loved one more than the other, I'm not sure but..." Michelangelo paused as he got his thoughts in order. "When she broke up with them, I don't think she meant for it to be permanent." He said softly. "I think she needed a little space. Their relationship is complicated. Raph wants her to choose between them, but I honestly don't know if she can choose. Maybe she can now. Maybe she hates them too much to ever be with them again. I don't know." He finished miserably.

Barry slowly nodded as he walked into the house, Michelangelo trailing after him.

* * *

><p><strong>Mr. White<strong> gazed calmly at his employer who sat behind a large ornately carved wooden desk, a deadly looking throwing knife in his black, leather gloved hands.

"I see you managed to make it out alive Mr. White." The Face's low, careful voice was slightly distorted by the white mask he wore over his face. The mask reminded him of a Guy Fawkes mask, without the van dyke facial hair.

"No thanks to you. That collar had more than enough explosives to level at least a quarter of the building." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest, the maniacal white mask smiling back at him, giving him no clue as to the thoughts of the wearer.

"Well, one can never be too careful. Besides, I knew your innate sense of self preservation would aide you in escaping." The voice was smooth and oily. "Do you have a problem with my actions?"

"No, no." He said holding out his hands. "Just an observation." He said quickly. Mr. White was a killer, but The Face was an insane psychopath.

"I am disappointed that my video feed was shot out." The voice behind the mask sounded displeased.

Mr. White smiled. "That's what phones are for." He said as he gently set his phone down sliding it across the polished wooden surface.

The Face looked at the phone, picking it up and touching the video on the screen. He was silent as he watched the video play. "I was expecting tears, anger, despair, some sort of emotion from her." The Face said with disappointment. "The creature definitely had feelings for her, but her feelings are more uncertain. Are you sure our information was correct?" The Face asked.

Mr. White shrugged. "Does it matter?"

The Face tapped the blade of the knife against the plastic lips of the mask. "I wanted to make her suffer. I wanted to make her kill the very thing she loved in the world the most." The Face said to him.

"Well, she did try to blow herself up rather than kill the creature, so it's possible that she did have feelings for him." He said coaxingly.

Tap, tap, tap. Went the blade against the mask. The sound echoed in the silence of the room like a doomsday clock counting down the minutes. The tapping stopped. "I see that you ran after she killed the creature." He observed. "Why?"

Mr. White felt his shoulders relax, grateful that he changed the subject. "Because," He said nonchalantly. "She looked at me with dead eyes as she grabbed the collar around her neck." He replied.

"Dead eyes?" The low voice questioned.

"Eyes that look out at the world and could care less if it all just burns. I think she would have taken that little girl and me with her. I don't think she cared anymore." Mr. White said truthfully.

"Are you sure it was not just your death you saw in her eyes? She threatened to come back and stalk you from the grave." The Face observed. "You took the child with you when you ran. Did her threat really scare you that much?" The voice purred knowingly.

Mr. White snorted. "No." He said with a shake of his head.

"Then why take the child when you ran?"

Mr. White frowned. "I saw her reach for her collar and I realized that she was going to pull it off early. And since I did not actually pack the C4 in the collar I was unsure how much was actually in there. I figured I would err on the side of caution and run. I just kept the kid hostage, that's all."

"Yes, but now the child can identify you." The Face pointed out.

"Doesn't matter. When the kid starts talking about the 'Turtle Man' And the 'Pretty Princess Lady', they won't believe anything she says."

"And you are sure they are all dead?" The Face questioned seriously.

"I saw the three other freaks run in. I had to jog out a side exit to avoid them. "I blew them all up as soon as I was out. The crazy bitch and the four freaks are dead"

"You were supposed to stay and make sure that none of them got out." The Face said, a low growl in his voice.

"I would have stayed but some ass hole shot at me. I was lucky he only clipped my arm. There was a whole lotta explosions going on in there. They didn't survive."

"You had better hope they did not." The Face threatened.

Mr. White swallowed. "Don't see why you wanted the chick dead though." He said trying to distract his displeased employer. "She had a lot of connections and her family has serious money."

"Some things are more important than money Mr. White." The Face said in a smooth, dangerously low voice. Mr. White nodded even though he didn't understand, not really. "Make sure they are dead." The Face continued. "The Shredder did not spend years trying to kill them because they were easy to kill." The Face ordered.

Mr. White nodded and then frowned. "How?" He asked. "The building was blown to smithereens, there isn't anything left."

The Face began to twirl the blade in his hands. "Use their phones, track any signals that you find, monitor any calls going out to friends and family." The Face said with a hint of irritation.

Mr. White nodded. "Yes sir. Is that all?" He asked.

"For now." The Face said as he waved him away with the knife in hand.

Mr. White carefully snatched his phone from the desk and walked calmly from the room, and past the bodyguards stationed outside of the hotel suite's door.

He would monitor any activity on the creature's cell phones. He would also monitor the woman's. Not that he believed that any of them were alive, but he was willing to put in the extra time. He did not want his face to end up in The Face's Room of 'Masks' as he called it. He had been shown the room once, and he had not even wanted to get close to the gruesome visages that were pinned to the blank faces of Styrofoam mannequin heads. Mr. White go chills just thinking about the room. Sometimes he didn't think he was paid enough for this job. On the other hand, he was never bored.

The woman though, she hadn't been as fun to kill as he had been hoping. He liked to see the fear in his victim's eye; to see their terror and suffering as they begged for their lives. She hadn't begged, or shown any emotion. This bothered him more than he could understand. He had lied to The Face, her threat had bothered him. Not the bit about the haunting, he didn't believe in vengeful ghosts. But he did believe that if she was still alive, that he was a dead man, because she had the emotionless eyes of a killer.

Mr. White smiled to himself. _It was a good thing that she was dead_. He thought.

He strolled down the corridor and hit the down button. He would go back to his room and search through the contact numbers on the woman's phone, make his boss happy, and try to get the image of green eyes that promised death, out of his head.

* * *

><p><strong>Donatello<strong> took a steadying breath as he looked at the ventilator.

They had spent three days at Barry's house waiting for Leonardo to be stable enough to be moved, and Donatello was anxious to get Leonardo home "Mikey, Barry are you two ready? He asked as he looked at each of them in turn. Both nodded back at him. Barry looked determined, while Michelangelo looked back at him with terrified eyes. Donatello checked the straps that secured Leonardo's body to the stretcher. "We only have 4 to 6 minutes maximum to get Leonardo into the truck and hook him back up to the ventilator, otherwise he could suffer brain damage. So I need you two to move fast, but try not to bump him around too much." He said seriously as he unhooked the tube from the machine. Barry and Michelangelo quickly lifted Leonardo's blanket wrapped form from the bed. "He'll be struggling to breathe, but that's normal, just get moving." Donatello said as he quickly unplugged the machine from the wall.

"What can I do Donny?" Raphael's quiet voice intruded.

"Raph, you can't use your hands, follow Barry and Mikey and make sure Leo is okay, I need to get this machine down into the truck and plug it in, and then grab the rest of the equipment."

Raphael looked at his bandaged hands in disgust, frustrated that he couldn't help, but gave a slight nod of his head as he left the room.

Donatello rolled the machine from the room and carried it awkwardly down the steps. His heart was pounding against his rib cage like a frightened bird, trying to escape the confines of his chest. He swallowed past the lump in his throat as he made his way quickly through the main floor, through the door that led to the garage, and down the steps that led to where the truck was parked.

Donatello could hear Leonardo desperately gasping for air. Guilt flooded through him at causing his brother to suffer. Donatello winced as he watched Barry and Michelangelo manoeuvre the stretcher into the back of the truck. Michelangelo quickly turned and took the ventilator from his shaking grasp and hefted it into the truck. Barry, who was still in the back with Leonardo, quickly reattached the tube tot he ventilator.

"On the left side, there is a plug." Donatello told Barry, who was kneeling on the floor of the truck looking for an outlet. Barry finally managed to locate the outlet and quickly plugged the machine in.

The sound of the ventilator filled the back of the truck as Donatello let out a relieved breath at Barry's nod that his brother was breathing properly again.

Barry leapt from the back of the truck as Michelangelo ran back into the house to get the heart monitor.

Donatello looked at Barry gratefully. "I'll get all of the equipment back to you as soon as Leo wakes up." He promised.

"You don't have to leave so quickly." Barry protested. "You're welcome to stay as long as you want or need." He offered.

Donatello gave a half smile. "Thank you, but I'd feel more comfortable with Leo back at the lair. It's more familiar surroundings for him as well."

Barry nodded. "If you're sure." He said as he looked at Leonardo's prone form. "I don't need the equipment back for a bit. It's our company's medical equipment that we usually take with us overseas, but we were getting a new bunch of medical supplies for our next job, whenever that may be. So this equipment was going to be donated to a local hospital. It was actually supposed to be stored in the company warehouse, but a broken pipe flooded the place, so I offered to take it until the damage was fixed. So no rush." He said to them. "actually, if there is anything you need just take it.

Donatello nodded with relief. A heart monitor and ventilator were things he did not have back at his lab, and there was other equipment sitting in the garage that he wouldn't mind having around, just in case.

Donatello wandered around and grabbed various pieces of equiptment and cases, anything that would fit in the truck, and placed them beside Leonardo. When Donatello had finished this task he waited for Michelangelo who had been quietly talking to Barry, while Raphael had sat on the bumper of the truck, his worried face glancing at Leonardo every so often.

Michelangelo shook Barry's hand."I'll call if Katherine's condition changes." Barry said to Michelangelo softly.

"Thanks for the phones Barry." Michelangelo replied.

Donatello had deactivated all of their phones after giving April a quick call telling her that they were all okay. He then has to explain that he and his brothers had to stay low for a while, and for her and Casey to stay as far away from them as possible. April had hated the idea, but he had given her no choice after he explained about the explosion and the little girl that was held hostage. The thought that either April or Casey could be targets had filled him with fear; the thought that Shadow could be a target had made him ill.

Barry had two extra phones lying around, and when Donatello got home and got Leonardo settled, he would activate them and make sure that their signal was bounced off a few different towers so that it would be untraceable.

Barry looked at Raphael who glared at him. Raphael stood, crossing his arms over his chest in irritation. "Raph." Barry said with a nod.

"You'd better call." Raphael said gruffly as he leapt into the passenger seat of the truck.

Barry just smiled congenially. "I think he's starting to like me." Barry said with a grin at Michelangelo, who grinned back at Barry. Barry turned serious. "Be careful and stay low." Barry reminded him.

Michelangelo nodded as he got into the driver's side.

Donatello gave a final nod to Barry as he climbed into the back of the truck with Leonardo, closing the doors behind him. "Drive carefully." Donatello reminded Michelangelo.

"Man, once you drive a Bugatti you can't ever go back." Michelangelo complained sadly, obviously missing the sweet ride.

"Mikey, if I gotta hear you brag about drivin' that car one more time, I am gonna kick your shell so hard you won't know if you're commin' or goin'." Raphael growled.

Michelangelo chuckled. "You know Raph, you didn't have to be so rude to Barry. He's a good guy." Michelangelo said with a smile. "And maybe if you ask real nice, he'll let you drive the car."

"One, we ain't never gonna see Barry again, 'cept when Donny returns the medical equipment that he ain't keepin'. Two, I know he's a good guy Mikey, that's _why_ I don't like him." Raphael said angrily. "I mean, not only is the guy nice, rich _and_ good looking, but the guy is smarter than me!" Raphael said with exasperation. "I would never have thought about the phones." Raphael said in frustration as he looked at his burned hands.

"Raph, I didn't think about our phones either." Donatello said to Raphael softly, trying to cheer his brother up.

"You would have Donny...Eventually" Raphael replied softly.

"Come on Raph," Michelangelo said with a teasing smile. "You break heads and leave the thinking to everyone else, you're used to it. Besides, Leo's smarter than you." Michelangelo pointed out.

Raphael continued to stare at his bandaged hands. Michelangelo lost his teasing smile and looked at Raphael with concern."That's different Mikey and you know it. But with Barry... How the hell am I supposed to compete with him?" Raphael asked softly.

Michelangelo was silent a few moments while Donatello tried to figure out what to say to Raphael to make him feel better. Donatello hated it when any of his brothers were hurting, physically or emotionally, but most times when it came to the emotional hurts, he was at a loss at what to do or say to make them better.

"Maybe you shouldn't Raph." Michelangelo said softly.

The silence in the truck suddenly became palpable, the only noise was the steady beep of the heart monitor and the exhalation sound of the ventilator.

Raphael looked at Michelangelo as if he had been stabbed in the back. Raphael's face paled and then crumpled as he hunched miserably into his seat. "I know Mikey." Raphael said wretchedly.

"She could hate all of us Raph, and why wouldn't she after everything that has happened?" Michelangelo asked quietly, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"She can't hate me as much as I hate myself Mikey." Raphael replied softly. Raphael shifted as he looked at Leonardo in the back of the truck. "But...If I hate myself for exposing Kitten to all of this..." Raphael swallowed and continued. "Leo was _there_." He said with a tremor in his voice. "What if Leo decides he can't live with himself. What if Leo doesn't fight to live? Leo's gonna think he failed her, and you know how Leo is."

Donatello looked at Leonardo a sudden spike of fear shooting through him. They did know how Leonardo's mind worked. And they knew Leo hadn't been able to help Katherine, which meant that Leonardo failed to keep his promise to protect her. "Then we fight for him." Donatello said with fierce determination as he studied Leonardo's passive face with concern.

By the time they were nearing the lair Donatello 's concern had grown. Leonardo's brow was beaded with sweat and his temperature seemed too high. "Mikey we need to get Leo home, fast." Donatello said as he watched his brother's heart rate climb on the heart monitor.

They finally pulled into the lair and Donatello couldn't stop the feeling of dread that was washing over him sending waves of adrenalin laced fear through him.

"Donny!" Raphael questioned him in panic as he listened to the frantic beats from the machine.

"I don't know Raph, but we need to get him out of the truck and to my lab as fast as possible. "I need you to help Raph, I'm sorry about your hands but I can't do this alone." Donatello said trying to keep the panic from seeping into his own voice.

They all worked together to unhook the ventilator and to get everything set up in his lab. He was grateful for Raphael's help, even though he knew his brother had to be in an intense amount of pain, he hadn't complained, just winced and bit back an exclamation of agony.

Donatello checked Leonardo's vitals and found that his temperature was too high, heart rate too rapid, and his blood pressure too low. Even his brother's breathing was becoming laboured and rapid, despite the aid of the machine. His brother's skin was clammy and had turned a sickly shade of greenish grey. Donatello looked down at his brother's leg. He pulled up the blanket exposing his brother's left leg encased within the removable cast.

He began quickly removing the straps of the cast. He grabbed a pair of scissors as both Michelangelo and Raphael hovered nearby. He cut away the bandages and removed the compress that covered his brother's leg wound. The wound was inflamed with angry black streaks trailing away from the stitched skin. Yellowish puss slowly oozed from the infected site.

"Damn it! It's infected." Donatello said cutting off any questions from his brothers. His mind raced feverishly as he determined his next coirse of action. He quickly grabbed a scalpel, he took a bracing breath and slowly lowered the cutting edge to the wound. He cut through the stitches in one fluid movement. He searched and found a sterile cloth. He gently but firmly pressed the cloth against the side of the now open wound. The smell of rotting flesh and death followed the flow of yellow puss that was forced from the wound. The fact that the smell was comiong from his brother's leg made Donatello have to hold back the bile that rose in his throat. Once the wound began to bleed red rather than yello Donatello grabbed a bottle of alchohol and poured it directly onto the infected site. The alchohol sputtered and bubbled causing a red foam. He quickly took up the scalpel again and cut away the dead skin before restitching the wound close and redressing the injury with fresh gauze.

Donatello looked at his brothers who were oddly silent. Raphael was standing, pale and silent next to Michelangelo, who had already retched into a bucket that sat in his lap as he slumped in a chair, his hand covering his nostrils. "I need to do a blood test and check for any abnormalities. Hope fully I will be able to determine the type of infection he has so I can treat him." Donatello said as he rushed to get a syringe and test tube.

Raphael and Michelangelo remained silent as they watched him take a sample of Leonardo's blood.

"What do you mean hopefully Donny?" Raphael finally asked.

Donatello rubbed his eyes and he slid the slide beneath his microscope. "Because, if I can't figure out what the infection is, I will have to do another test, one I don't really want to do." He replied softly.

"Donny?" Michelangelo asked with worry.

Donatello looked into the microscope and bit back a growl of frustration. "I can't tell." He said shaking his head in frustration. "All I can see is that he has an elevated white blood cell count." He said with the dreadful realization that he was going to have to perform a test that had its own risks.

"Help me gently roll Leo onto his side." Donatello said to Michelangelo. Michelangelo frowned but helped him roll Leonardo onto his side and secure him with the strap.

"Donny, what are you doing?" Raphael asked a hint of worry and fear lacing his words.

"I need to do a spinal tap." He said as he ran back to the truck. He had grabbed a medical drill from Barry's garage, and it was still sitting in the back of the truck.

Raphael ran after him, pulling him to a stop by grabbing his shoulder roughly, and spinning him around. "You need to do a what?" Raphael roared in fear and anger.

Donatello shrugged off his brother's cruel grip and opened the back of the truck, pulling out the drill. "A spinal tap. It will definitively tell me what is wrong with Leo." He said in irritation as he strode past Raphael who had been shocked into immobility.

Striding back into his lab Donatello placed the drill case on its side and opened it. He pulled out the drill rinsed the drill bit with iodine before plugging it in. He grabbed goggles, iodine, a mask , gloves and a syringe. He put the goggles over his eyes, washed his hands and pulled on his gloves.

Raphael, seething in repressed rage got right into his face. His brother's eyes were narrowed into the barest of slits, his honey brown eyes blazed a golden amber as Raphael placed his hands on his chest. "What are the risks Donny?" Raphael growled, his voice so low he could barely hear him.

"I could paralyze him." Donatello said bluntly. "But if I don't do this I could give him the wrong antibiotics and that could kill him." He took a breath as he tried to figure out a way to make Raphael understand. "Raph...we don't have a choice, the infection is already killing him." He said viciously. "I would rather do the test and risk paralyzing him then just sit back and watch him die. I would rather have a brother who was alive then dead, paralyzed or not." He said trying to make Raphael understand that he didn't want to do this, but he had no choice, not if they wanted Leonardo to live.

Raphael shook his head vehemently from side to side. "Donny, do you have any idea what being paralyzed would do to him?" Raphael asked, his voice breaking in fear and horror.

Donatello nodded his head. "I know, but paralyzed, is better than dead." He finished softly.

Raphael searched his face and nodded in understanding. "Okay Donny." He said as he stepped out of the way.

"If you two are going to be in here, you need to wear masks, and then you can help me." He said as he injected strong pain killers into Leonardo's arm. "Raph, watch the life support machines, if anything changes even the slightest bit, tell me. Mikey, watch Leo's face for an signs that he is in pain. I gave him a dose of pain killers, just in case he wakes up." He said as he bent over Leonard's shell. He found the correct ridge in his brother's central scutes and after rubbing the area with iodine, began to slowly drill until he felt a pressure difference in the drilling. He had been carefully removing the bits of shell with iodine and he did another wash of iodine as he carefully pulled the drill out. He put the drill down and picked up the syringe. He carefully inserted the needle into the freshly drilled hole and inserted it into his brother's spine, hoping that he hadn't gone in too far.

He pulled the syringe's plunger and collected the spinal fluid sample he would need.

He looked at the syringe. "It's supposed to be clear." He murmered softly as he studied the cloudy liquid for a moment. He carefully put the syringe down and began the process of repairing Leonardo's shell. He cleaned and placed a sterile metal ring around the drill site. He then secured a piece of fibreglass cloth using an epoxy resin. The patch would wear off eventually, but the shell would heal and only a small indent would be any indication that anything had ever been done.

Donatello took the spinal fluid and after getting a definitive test as to the bacteria that was now in his brother's blood stream, he was able to administer the correct antibiotics.

Donatello checked Leonardo's IV and temperature. It would take a while before the antibiotics began fighting the infection. He looked down at Michelangelo who was half laying on Leonardo's cot, having moved him from the stretcher a few hours ago.

Michelangelo lifted his head up and looked at him. "How do we know if..." Michelangelo wasn't even able to finish the dreaded question.

Raphael peered at him from where he sat on a stool waiting to have his bandages changed.

"We won't know anything until he wakes up Mikey." Donatello said softly, a hard ball of worry having already settled in his stomach. He had saved his brother's life, but at what cost? He knew the risks, but the thought that he could have paralyzed Leonardo while doing it made him feel ill.

* * *

><p>b<strong>um bum bummmmm!<strong>

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome!**

**Hope everyone enjoyed chapter 11!**

**I wonder how Kitten is doing? hmmm perhaps next chapter we will find out;)(or not, I guess I will write it an see!)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A big giant thank you to Amonrapheonix who poured sweat and tears into beta reading and offering up wonderful suggestions and ideas for this chapter!**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers Chibiwolf33, blownnn, Rocky181, Kaaayyytteee and moonie016!**

**And now the next chapter, which is kinda intense, (blame Amonraphoenix for that.;)**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 12<span>

**Raphael** glared down at his older brother. Christmas was only two days away, but no one was in the mood for it. Raphael knew that Michelangelo was hoping that Leonardo would wake up for Christmas, like some Christmas miracle, but with only two days to go, Raphael had the distinct impression that Michelangelo was going to be disappointed. "He's supposed to be awake by now Donny." He snapped at his younger brother. "It's been 2 weeks!"

Donatello gave him an irritated glance as he began adjusting the buttons on the ventilator. "Raph, you know there were complications." Donatello ground out in irritation.

"He got sick." Raphael said with a shrug.

"He didn't just 'get sick' Raph, he had septicaemia, or if you want the 'English' terminology, he had blood poisoning." He said with irritation. "Leo could have gone into septic shock and died!" Donatello said with frustration. "Leo's body has been through so much, I honestly don't know how much more it can take." He said seriously. "I was just lucky that I had the right kind of antibiotics on hand." He said the last under his breath.

"I was there Donny, remember?" Raphael said angrily. "But Leo should be awake by now!"

Donatello ignored his outburst as he carefully rolled Leonardo onto his side and began to gently pull the ventilator tube from his mouth. "Now that his lungs have healed, Leo should be able to breathe on his own." Donatello said as he placed the tubing aside. Donatello quickly checked Leonardo's breathing and nodded with satisfaction. "I need to get this equipment sterilized so I can get it back to Barry."

"Don't even talk to me about that guy Donny." Raphael growled as he tried to ignore the shot of worry laced fear and agony shooting through him that finally settled somewhere in the region of his heart.

"Barry said he would phone if Kitten's condition changed, so obviously nothing has changed Raph." Donatello said, making an effort to bite back his irritation. Donatello took a steadying breath. "Now just watch Leo for five minutes for me. Do you think you can handle that?"

Raphael glared at Donatello who glared right back. Donatello grabbed the machine and wheeled it out of the lab.

Raphael threw himself into the chair that had been set up next to Leonardo's cot. He tried to ignore Donatello's irritation. He knew Donatello was worried, they all were, but Donatello had barely slept the last two weeks (not that either Michelangelo or himself had done any better), but this past week Donatello had decided that Leonardo needed to be put on a feeding tube, so he wouldn't slowly starve to death. This meant that Leonardo needed to be fed every 4 to 6 hours. The tube had been placed down his brother's nostril and this combined with the ventilator had made it look as if Leonardo was going to die any minute. Thankfully with the ventilator gone, his brother looked more like he was just sleeping rather than hanging onto dear life by a thread.

Raphael picked up the blue scrap of fabric that was draped over the arm of the chair he was sitting in. Donatello had removed it shortly after they had stabilized Leonardo nearly two weeks ago. Raphael worried the fabric between his fingers. He ignored the pain that shot through his hands as he did this. He needed to feel the smooth texture of the cerulean blue beneath his fingertips.

Raphael finally allowed his gaze to drift to his brother's gaunt face. Somehow his big brother's strong, stern visage was softened without his mask. He looked vulnerable, and he hated the thought of Leonardo ever being vulnerable.

His brother was losing weight rapidly, but his colour was better and his face was no longer drawn and beaded with sweat.

Raphael had put on a brave face, pretending that the blood infection had been about as important as a minor sniffle, but the truth was, that Raphael had been terrified. He had been scared that Leonardo would die from the infection. Donatello had been horrified and blamed himself because the infection had likely come from the surgery, but they all knew that Donatello had done the best that he could under the circumstances.

Raphael had spent many nights watching over his brother's motionless body as the machine breathed for him and the steady beep of the heart monitor indicated that his brother was still alive. The thought that Leonardo could still die filled him with so much dread that it was all he could do to get a few hours of sleep here and there. He didn't want to leave his brother's side in case the worst happened and Leonardo died while he slept. If Leonardo was dying, he was going to be right there to talk him out of it, and if he couldn't, if Leonardo finally died, then Raphael would be right there holding his hand and letting him know that he was there and that he loved him. He would let him know that he was sorry for failing him, and that he was sorry for always being an ass.

"Come on Leo, keep fighting and wake up." Raphael said as he gingerly took Leonardo's hand in his freshly scarred one. "Don't you dare die on me now, you hear me?" He growled. "We need you. You're our big brother...we'd be lost without you. Besides, you promised, remember? You said you would always be there to protect Kitten, and she still needs you, and…and she loves you. If you won't do it for me, for us, do it for her." He pleaded softly.

Leonardo squeezed his hand tightly. Hope rose in Raphael's chest, believing his brother was finally waking up. But his hope turned to dry ash as Leonardo's breathing became uneven and laboured. With each new breath his brother struggled desperately to breathe in again. _ NO. NONONONO_! Raphael screamed inside his head as he stood_. He couldn't be dying, not now, not after all they had been through to keep him alive! _

Raphael searched his brother's face in panic. Disbelief raged through him. _This can't be happening. _He thought to himself as he watched in growing horror as Leonardo seemed to be straining for each precious breath that rattled in his chest, the sound dissolving into a painful, wheezing gurgle. Leonardo's eyes flew open and rolled wildly as he struggled to breathe before they slid slowly closed, his brother's face grimacing in pain.

Raphael felt pinpricks of sweat begin to bead his body as he looked at his brother's face in alarm. Leonardo took another rattling gasp of air. Raphael leaned over Leonardo, gripping his brother's shoulders tightly. "No Leo, don't you dare do this to me!" He said shaking his head as the heart monitor began making a warning noise.

"Donny!" He shouted, his voice breaking in horrified panic.

Donatello rushed into the room, looking at the monitor and then to Leonardo. "What did you do Raph?" Donatello accused.

"Nothin'!" He said defensively as he straightened, allowing Donatello access to Leonardo's distressed form.

Donatello pulled back the bed sheets and stared at Leonardo's chest. Part of his chest rose while the other part fell at the same time. It was evident that, even though his brother's plastron covered his chest, there was something very wrong. "Oh God. No." Donatello whispered. "Mikey! Bring the ventilator in here! Now!" Donatello shouted.

"Donny, talk to me. What the hell is wrong with Leo?" Raphael asked in a fearful voice as his heart began beating a painful rhythm in his chest. Blood began rushing through his ears drowning out Donatello's voice as his question was answered.

Michelangelo ran into the room pushing the ventilator in front of him. "Donny?" Michelangelo asked in a small frightened voice as he plugged the ventilator into the wall.

Donatello ignored them both as he switched the machine back on. He gently pried Leonardo's mouth open and tilted his head back before pushing the tube gently down Leonardo's throat.

Raphael swallowed and resisted the urge to gag at the sight.

"What the hell Donny?" Raphael exclaimed when his brother began breathing with the help of the ventilator again.

"What the hell, Raph? You are asking _me_ what the _HELL_? You think this is _my_ fault?" Donatello asked incredulous.

"No, of course not Donny..." Raphael began in denial before Donatello cut him off.

"You think that Leo having a flail chest is my fault? I have done everything that I can to keep him alive. This is your fault Raphael!" Donatello spat angrily as tears began forming on the edges of his brother's eyes.

Raphael looked back at Donatello in stunned silence. He couldn't believe that Donatello was blaming him for Leonardo being injured. It didn't matter that he blamed himself, but to hear his brother actually put into words what he had been thinking was like a knife through the heart.

"Donny I…" He began in a hurt voice.

"Don't you get it Raph? It's because of you that Leo has a flail chest! He could DIE, no thanks to YOU!" Donatello yelled as he rounded on him.

Donatello advanced and pushed him back hard.

Raphael stumbled and nearly fell. Only Michelangelo grabbing hold of him was keeping him upright as black spots danced before his eyes. "I don't know what that even means Donny." He said miserably to his brother as he pulled out of Mcihelangelo's grip.

"I should have known that Leo's ribs were broken." Donatello said to himself. "I should have performed CPR. You were too rough with him. A chunk of his rib cage has become detached!"

Raphael bit back a gasp of horror as his eyes flew to Leonardo's still form. Panic, fear and guilt began to bubble up and choke him.

The image of his brother's ribs floating detached from the rest of his body was a horrifying.

"C...can you f-fix...?" He managed to stammer through a mouth that was suddenly too dry.

Donatello glared at him angrily, tears having finally fallen, soaking his amethyst mask and turning it a dark violet. "He..." Donatello dashed the tears from his eyes. "He'll have to stay on the ventilator for another 2 weeks. His pulmonary contusion...his bruised lungs, should be healed enough to support his own breathing, but his ribs will take another 4 weeks minimum to heal." He said in a shaky voice.

"Leo's going to die, isn't he?" Raphael managed to choke out the question in the barest of whispers, forgetting that Michelangelo was in the room.

Michelangelo let out a choked sob of horror.

Donatello looked over at Leonardo before turning his attention back to them. "We're giving him the best chance we can." Donatello said to them in a soft voice. "Leo's sheets need to be changed and he needs to be fed again. If you two could change his bedding and wash him, I will get Leo's food ready." Donatello said as he slowly walked from the room, his step faltering as he caught himself by pushing against the door frame of the lab. Donatello closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before pushing himself away from the door frame and walking to the kitchen where he would prepare the chalk like gunk that was Leonardo's 'food'.

"Come on Mikey." Raphael said in a drained and dispirited voice. "Help me with Leo." He said as they went about carefully changing his brother's sheets, getting them into the wash, and placing fresh sheets on the plastic covered bed. They worked silently as they performed their tasks. Neither he nor Michelangelo even fought over who's turn it was to give Leonardo his sponge bath, which was evidence enough on how worried they both were. They completed their tasks while Donatello fed Leonardo through the feeding tube.

"I wonder if this is how Kitten felt?" Michelangelo observed softly when Donatello had left the room to grab some water to flush out the feeding tube.

"Huh?" Raphael asked stupidly.

"Well, you were beaten and unconscious for 12 days, so Kitten was changing the bedding and sitting around waiting to see if you were going to wake up." Michelangelo said softly as Michelangelo placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze before leaving the room.

Raphael felt his shoulders slump in defeat. He didn't want to think about Katherine anymore today, because if he thought about her again, he was going to break down in tears. He missed her and was so worried about her and Leonardo, that it was taking every ounce of willpower he had not to break. But he was the second oldest and he had to keep it together for Michelangelo and Donatello. His eyes flicked to Leonardo's face. He felt as if he was too full of worry, fear, guilt and misery. He was so full of these feelings that he had begun to feel dead inside. He felt as if he were trapped in some horrible nightmare that he kept praying he'd wake up from, but was unable to, because he wasn't in a dream, instead he was in a waking nightmare.

Raphael knelt down next to Leonardo's prone form. He leaned over his brother, his lips close to his brother's ear. "You hang in there big bro," He whispered in a voice that was barely audible, even to himself. "Please..." His voice trailed off as raw emotion once again filled him. He shakily stood, sliding into the nearby chair. He leaned back and made himself comfortable as he continued his grim vigil over his brother.

* * *

><p><strong>Donatello<strong> watched as Leonardo's chest rose and fell, the machine still breathing for him. It had been 12 days since he had last tried to remove the ventilator and he planned to remove it in a few days. Unfortunately Leonardo had shown no signs of regaining consciousness. Donatello tentatively reached out to take Leonardo's skeletal hand in his own. Leonardo had lost a lot of muscle and body mass, despite the feeding tube, leaving him not much more than a skeletal figure lying in the bed.

"So how long Donny?" Raphael asked bitterly as he walked up behind him.

"I don't know when he's going to wake up Raph." Donatello said in listless irritation.

"That's not what I'm asking Donny. I'm asking when your cut off is? When have you decided that Leo's a lost cause and you are going to pull the plug on him?" Raphael asked with a hint of bitter anger in his voice.

Donatello leaned over and buried his face in Leonardo's blankets, allowing his fears to flow through his mind. He was scared that it was somehow his fault that he couldn't do anything more to help his brother. He was beginning to believe that at this point Leonardo would not wake up...ever. And the thought that he may have to actually 'pull the plug' on his big brother's life, was something that he allowed himself to think about and decide on, because he was the only one who could.

He swallowed and tipped his head up so that his voice would not be muffled. "The longer someone remains unconscious, or in a coma, the less chance they have of waking up." He answered softly. "There are cases where someone wakes up after 20 years, but...those cases are rarer than you think."

"Kitten?" Raphael asked softly.

Donatello remained silent.

"You think they are gonna pull the plug on Kitten?" Raphael's voice repeated in the barest of whispers.

"Leo's not waking up because of the overall bodily trauma he's suffered. Kitten injured her head. Head trauma is very serious and I don't know what kind of damage, if any, she suffered." Donatello said as he lifted his head from the bed and looked at Raphael, whose face was a sick shade of grey. "Barry is making sure that Kitten is being looked after. If she had no brain activity they would have pulled the plug by now and I have no doubt that her death would have been reported in the paper's. After all, there would be no sense in hiding her if she were already dead."

"I hate not knowin' how she is Donny." Raphael said wretchedly. "And I can't even be there for her."

"I know Raph." He replied softly.

"How bad is he really Donny?" Raphael asked in a steady voice.

Donatello took in a steadying breath as he gave voice to his fears. "I may have missed something early on Raph, just like I missed Leo's flail chest, I might have missed some sort of head injury, and if I did then it is too late to treat that sort of injury now. He would have needed better medical care than I would have been able to provide." Donatello said with a hitch of despair in his voice as he watched the rise and fall of Leonardo's chest in grim hopelessness. He swallowed as he forced the next words out of his mouth. "Raph, we have to prepare ourselves for the possibility that Leo might not survive his injuries." Donatello said miserably, a bigger hitch in his voice as he blinked back tears.

"So you're sayin' that after everything, after goin' in and savin' him and keepin' him alive, that what? We were too late?" Raphael asked, fire lighting his eyes turning them bright amber.

Donatello swallowed as he finally whispered, "Yes."

Raphael looked as if his world had tilted and been swept out from underneath him. "I refuse to believe it Donny." He said shaking his head in denial. "You think Leo would want us to give up on him?" Raphael said throwing his arms wide.

"Do you think Leo wants to be hooked up to a machine for the rest of his life?" Donatello snapped back, instantly regretting the words as the fire in Raphael's eyes dimmed.

"How long Donny?" Raphael asked gruffly.

Donatello looked at his older brother and lowered his voice. "Don't breathe a single word to Mikey." Donatello warned. Raphael frowned but nodded . Donatello continued grimly. "If Leo isn't able to breathe on his own, and hasn't woken up in another 4 weeks...I...I will pull everything."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Raphael<strong> looked at each brother as they gathered around Leonardo's bedside. It had been four weeks and they had finally had to give Michelangelo the grim news after Leonardo's condition had failed to improve. Michelangelo was holding onto one of Leonardo's hands while he silently sobbed._

_Donatello injected a mild painkiller into Leonardo's arm before pulling the breathing tube from his throat in one smooth motion, leaving his brother's face free of any tubing, the feeding tube having already been removed._

_They watched in fearful anticipation as Leonardo's chest continued to rise and fall. But ever so slowly Leonardo's chest rose less and less until if it wasn't for his keen eyesight, Raphael would have thought his brother was already dead. Ragged, raspy breaths were dragged into his brother's injured body and slowly exhaled. Leonardo's face darkened as his body struggled to survive._

_"H...how long Donny?" Raphael choked out hoping his brother's suffering would be over soon._

_"Th...thirty minutes, maybe forty." Donatello replied in a sob choked voice._

_"Donny...please...I can't watch him suffer that long." He said wildly shaking his head in misery at what was happening and what he was suggesting._  
><em>Donatello paled in horror as he realized what he wanted from him. Donatello nodded grimly as he picked up a syringe and dug through a few medicine bottles before coming up with one that he inserted the syringe into, pulling out the plunger as he measured out the lethal dose.<em>

_"Donny?" Michelangelo whispered in a horror filled voice as he finally understood what Raphael had asked Donatello to do._

_"It will be..."Donatello choked back a sob and continued. "It will be quicker and less painful Mikey." Donatello said as he tried to get their baby brother to understand._

_Donatello's hand began to shake violently as he bit back another choking sob. His grief-stricken eyes begged Raphael not to make him be the one who injected their older brother with a lethal dose of medicine._  
><em>Raphael reached over and gently took the syringe from Donatello's shaking grasp. Raphael was the one who was asking for Leonardo's suffering to end, so he should be the one to do it.<em>

_Donatello looked at him in relief filled agony. "It has to be injected into his neck." Donatello informed him in a soft, misery filled voice._  
><em>Raphael nodded in grim determination as he gently inserted the needle into the right side of Leonardo's neck. He bit back a sob as he knelt down and brought his forehead to Leonardo's. A tear slowly ran down his cheek. He pulled his forehead away and cradled Leonardo's face with his free hand. "I'm sorry Leo. So, so sorry. Please forgive me." He croaked as he gently kissed his brother's forehead, closing his eyes and pushing down the plunger of the needle, releasing the substance into his brother's body.<em>

_Tears, hot and salty ran unbidden down Raphael's cheeks as he opened his eyes and gently withdrew the needle, setting it on the makeshift nightstand._  
><em>They gathered around their dying brother, holding onto his hands as they listened to his breathing become fainter and fainter until his chest stilled.<em>

_Raphael felt as if his own breath would no longer enter his lungs he was filled with so much grief._

_Leonardo's body began to grow cold beneath his hand. Raphael let out a roar of grief and anguish as it finally hit him that his big brother was gone forever. Raphael opened his mouth and screamed his brother's name._

"Leo!" Raphael cried out gasping as he awoke on Leonardo's bed, his body drenched in sweat and shaking violently. His brother's room was silent and still. Everything was neat and orderly, just as his brother had left it. Raphael had been heading to his room, but felt as if he needed the comfort of his big brother and had fallen asleep in Leonardo's bed. _Please tell me that wasn't real! _Raphael screamed in his head as he leapt from Leonardo's bed. He ran from his brother's bedroom, descending to the first floor as he headed to Donatello's lab/makeshift infirmary.

Raphael let out a huge breath of relief as he confirmed that his brother was still lying on the bed where he had left him a few hours earlier. It had only been a few days after Donatello had discovered Leonardo's flail chest and for that he was grateful, because it meant that they still had time.

His brother's chest gently moved up and down with every breath of the machine. But this confirmation of life was not enough for him, he needed the visceral sense that Leonardo was actually alive.

He strode across the room, past Michelangelo's sleeping form, and gently put his hand on his brother's plastron, directly over his heart. He sighed in relief as he felt his brother's strong heartbeat throbbing under his hand.

"You lying unconscious is gettin' really old Leo." Raphael quipped as he scrubbed a scarred and calloused hand down his weary features. He turned and pulled the blanket up and around Michelangelo's shoulders. Michelangelo let out a soft snore and tucked his head further into his shoulder. Raphael smiled at his baby brother wearily.

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo's<strong> every thought was filled with nothing but pain. It rode over and consumed his very existence. His chest was on fire and his whole body felt as if it were made of lead instead of flesh. He could hear the far away beeping of a monitor as he struggled to take a breath, but was unable to. Instead something forced the breath from his lungs only to force him to inhale which sent a wave of searing, white hot agony ripping across his chest.

He slowly opened his eyes. Light pierced him and shot burning red hot agony straight to his brain where it reared and tore at him with ferocious fury. Leonardo closed his eyes. A voice was raised in panic, but the sound was mumbled and far away.

Darkness calmly and coldly wrapped itself around his consciousness and blissfully pulled him back down into oblivion.

* * *

><p><strong>Michelangelo<strong> looked at Donatello with a mixture of hope and panic. He could feel the tears soaking through the fabric of his mask leaving it wet against his cheeks. "He..he opened his eyes Donny." Michelangelo stammered to his brother who began checking Leonardo's vitals.

Michelangelo waited in silent apprehension, hoping and praying that Leonardo would finally wake up, that he was finally healing.

Michelangelo had been aware of the grim looks and silent conversations that had been going on back and forth between Raphael and Donatello for the past few days, and Michelangelo knew that whatever it was that had his older siblings worried, it was not good.

At first he had been angry that his brothers were hiding something from him, something to do with Leonardo's condition, but at the same time, he was too worried to let anger maintain a hold on his emotions for long.

Michelangelo looked over his shoulder at Raphael who shuffled into the room. Raphael had been sent away to sleep, but if the dark circles smudged beneath his bloodshot eyes were any indication, Raphael had not slept at all. His face, normally a brilliant shade of emerald green, had faded to a pale, sickly jade.

Michelangelo had been forcing Raphael to eat and get some rest, but Raphael had only picked at any food put in front of him and he had insisted on continuously being present at Leonardo's bedside, which meant that Raphael had also begun to lose weight.

Raphael's eyes shifted from his own to Leonardo's still form. It had taken Michelangelo a little longer than usual, but he finally understood that for some reason Raphael blamed himself for Leonardo and Katherine's current situation.

"_I knew Leo's arm wasn't up to snuff Mikey, but I just let him go off by himself." Raphael had said to him._

_ "Raph, this is not your fault." He had insisted._

_ "Yes it is Mikey. I knew Leo would never admit to his arm not being up to fighting. I should have insisted we break into teams. I should have been more focused on the task, which was protecting Katherine, not sitting on the rooftop moping because she was on a date with another guy. This is on me Mikey. Both of them were hurt because of me." He had finished softly as he walked back to Donatello's lab to sit beside Leonardo._

Michelangelo was wrenched back to the present by Donatello, who straightened, a frown on his face. Donatello's silence sent Michelangelo's soaring hopes plummeting back to earth.

Donatello blinked owlishly, as if he just realized that he and Raphael were in the room waiting anxiously for his verdict. "He's still unconscious." He pronounced. "But, if he regained consciousness, even for a little bit, then that means he's improving." Donatello said with a broken smile.

Raphael stumbled and slumped in the chair he had vacated hours earlier when Michelangelo had kicked him out. Raphael gently took Leonardo's hand and began softly talking to him, as if pure strength of will alone would cause Leonardo to permanently wake up.

"Donny..." Michelangelo began. "Leo...he didn't look like he could move." Michelangelo whispered brokenly.

Donatello paled but nodded. "He's been unconscious for a month. His limbs would be partially paralyzed." Donatello said as he took a shaky breath. "We can only wait until he wakes up to see if I...If I damaged his spinal cord." Donatello finished wretchedly.

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> slowly and brokenly became aware through a blur of suffocating pain that riddled his senses and left him disoriented and gasping for air. The pungent scent of alcohol, disinfectant, and the sticky sweet smell of illness assaulted his nostrils. It felt as if liquid ice was being pumped into his arm leaving it uncomfortably cold and numb. A breath was forced into his lungs sending shooting waves of agony across his chest. He could feel something shoved through his nose and running down the back of his throat. He tried to swallow, but couldn't complete the action.

His eyes flashed open in absolute utter panic and terror at the thought that one of their enemies had captured him and were performing some sort of experiment on him.

A shadow slipped over his face and he blinked, trying to focus his vision. Memory crashed, ripped and tore through him in a cacophony of images, smells and textures. He closed his eyes as he let out a silent scream of pure agony that was silenced by whatever was forcing him to breathe. He fought to move, his weakened limbs struggling to obey him, but to his horror only one arm seemed to obey him. His other limbs felt as if they were weighted down with lead.

"Leo, Leo, it's okay, you're safe." Donatello's comforting voice slid around him, but did nothing to reassure him.

_ Leonardo had felt his own blood burning down his cool skin as Katherine turned away from him. The light scent of flowers had drifted around her as she ran. He had felt the rough scrape of cement against his bare skin as he struggled against the last two bonds that had bound him to the wall._

Leonardo fought against the gentle hands that tried to hold him down.

_Katherine was... DEAD._

The thought tore through his mind like a blade cleaving away his flesh, stripping him bare of everything but the absolute realization that Katherine had been killed. He tried to scream his horror, pain, and misery, but no sound escaped him as he lashed out with his one arm.

"Hold him Mikey!" Donatello yelled in panic. "Leo calm down! I know you're uncomfortable and in a lot of pain, but you are just going to hurt yourself worse!" Donatello shouted.

_Leonardo remembered watching in horror as the clock counted down its hellish torture. Each second flicking past so quickly that time felt as if it had somehow stood still, until it hadn't, and it was too late. Blood red numbers slashed through the clock's black background proclaiming that time had run out and there was no more time left. The clock had read 00:00 and Leonardo had screamed Katherine's name in horror and terror as he struggled with the final strap. _

_ The explosion had been deafening, but he had still heard Katherine's scream. Her scream had sounded as if it had been torn from her throat against her will, as if she could no longer hold in her terror or her anguish before the bomb had silenced her forever. _

_ Orange flames, acrid smoke, and flaming debris had been scattered around the doorway; the doorway that Katherine had ran through after she had checked to make sure that he still lived, because somehow he did. _

_ Each arrow that had raked his flesh had stung and bled, but those arrows were not the one that was to be fatal. Katherine had looked at the __clock, its red numbers indicating that she had one minute and twenty three seconds left. Roughly a minute left before she would shoot him, and they would both die.__ She fluidly notched the final arrow in one swift motion, pulling back the string she looked at him with darkened green eyes that held nothing of the woman he knew and loved...she fired without hesitation or remorse._

_ Leonardo's eyes had widened in shock as he realized that she was going to kill him early. He had felt searing agony as the arrow burned through his flesh like a hot poker. His life force slowly ebbed from his body as he relaxed, closing his eyes as he gathered himself, ignoring the pain and accepting his end._

_ A light touch and the scent of flowers had brought him back to reality. His left arm was suddenly released. "You will live." Her soft voice had whispered as he felt her lightly kiss him. His eyes had snapped open but she was already turning to run. She had undone one strap and left him to deal with the other three. Perhaps she only undid the one to slow him down, to make sure he could free himself, but would not be able to follow until it was too late. _

_ "No!" He had shouted at her as he frantically undid the other ties that bound him to the wall. But Katherine had already vanished through the doorway, the doorway that he had stared at with near incomprehension as the fire had blazed and burned around him. He was free in body, but the knowledge that she had sacrificed everything, including her own life to save him, left him empty and hollow of any feeling except devastated misery and overwhelming guilt._

_ The world around him had then exploded with light and a deafening noise that left his ears ringing. Pain roared through his body as he found himself on the floor, a crushing weight forcing the air from his lungs. Darkness beckoned and he fell into it gratefully. _

"Leo, you have to stop!" Michelangelo pleaded desperately.

"Hold his arm still Mikey." Donatello's strained voice said from far away. "I'm giving him a sedative. He's just going to hurt himself further if he keeps this up.

"Leo, you're okay bro." Raphael's gravelly voice burst through the pain clouded fog that was beginning to consume his mind.

He tried to say Raphael's name, to scream, but he couldn't. He thrashed again because it wasn't right. He had lived and Katherine had died and it was because he had been weak.

Thick, heavy, black, guilt welled up within him. He could never face Raphael again. It was because of him that the woman Raphael loved was now dead. He might as well have attached the bomb around her neck himself.

He forced himself to open his eyes and look Raphael straight in the eyes and knowing his brother would hate him forever. He knew he didn't deserve anything less than absolute hatred from his brother.

Tears blurred Leonardo's vision as he took in Raphael's face. There were dark smudges around his bloodshot eyes. His features were pale and gaunt, as if he hadn't been eating. Deep lines of grief had been carved into his forehead and around his eyes. But instead of loathing, anger or accusation, his brother's amber eyes looked at him with a mixture of relief and euphoria.

Leonardo closed his eyes against the sight of his brother looking at him with anything other than incrimination and hatred.

Tears ran down his cheeks in misery as he was dragged back into the darkness. Donatello's soft voice assuring him that he was going to be okay. But Leonardo knew the truth, and that was that he would never be okay.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> looked at Leonardo in relief once Donatello had reassessed Leonardo's injuries and concluded that he hadn't re-injured himself by thrashing his arm around. However they couldn't help but notice that during all of that movement Leonardo didn't so much as twitch his good leg.

Donatello closed his eyes and his shoulders sagged in relief. "I'll remove the feeding tube, but I'll leave him on the ventilator until he wakes up." Donatello said as he began to gently extract the feeding tube from his now sleeping brother's nostril. "He'll be more comfortable and we can start feeding him some broth once he wakes up."

"So... he's better?" Raphael found himself asking for the fourth time.

"He isn't 'better' Raph, but he is recovering. He was awake and he recognized all of us."

"But why was he thrashing around like that?" Michelangelo asked in a soft voice.

Donatello looked over at Leonardo's now calm face. "He didn't know where he was at first? Maybe he thought he had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Combine that with the terrifying feeling that something was forcing him to breathe in and out...I think his reaction was understandable." Donatello said with a shrug.

Michelangelo opened his mouth and Raphael glared at him. "Mikey if you dare say it's a Christmas miracle I will beat you black and blue." Raphael growled at his youngest brother.

Michelangelo didn't even crack a smile. "Christmas was 16 days ago Raph, but... Leo's birthday is in 7 days." Michelangelo said softly.

Raphael was quiet a minute. "I know." He replied gently. _His brother was going to live to see his 27th birthday_. It was a strange thought to have, but one he was thankful to be able to have.

He studied Michelangelo's tired face. Raphael knew how worried Michelangelo had been, and he knew that Michelangelo suspected that they were hiding something from him. Raphael was just glad that they were not going to have to ever make the decision to pull the life support on Leonardo.

"Is he in a lot of pain Donny?" Michelangelo asked softly.

Donatello sighed. "His ribs will hurt when he breathes and if he tries to move around he will aggravate the injuries to his arm and leg, so yes he is in pain. But he will get better and as long as he doesn't thrash around like that again his ribs will heal in another 4 weeks. He'll still be bedridden for another month, but after that he should be able to get out of bed with help, and then in another month after that he should be able to make it around with crutches.

Raphael felt himself fall into the chair behind him as he added up the months it would take his brother to recover just to get onto crutches. "So you're sayin' that Leo's gonna be bed ridden for another 3 _months_?" He asked incredulous.

Donatello nodded. "He will be on strict bed rest for the next month. After his ribs have healed he will be able to take short trips to the bathroom with help. After that month he will be able to get around with crutches." Donatello elaborated.

Raphael looked at Leonardo in horror. "Donny...Leo's leg's gonna be fine...right?" He asked Donatello desperately.

Donatello closed his eyes. He sat down gently on the edge of Leonardo's cot and gently picked up his brother's limp hand in his own. Donatello looked at Michelangelo and himself seriously. "When Leo wakes up again he's not going to be able to talk for at least 3 days. He is going to have the worst sore throat you have ever had, times 10. His burns have healed but will still be very sensitive for a bit yet. The cast will come off his arm in a week, the cast around his leg will come off in a month. He will need extensive physiotherapy and will likely walk with a limp for a few years. But the limp will eventually fade and he will make a full recovery. But..." Donatello let out a sigh. "Leo won't be able to train for at least a year." Donatello finished softly.

Raphael looked at Donatello in anguish. "Donny..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Leo not being able to train..." Raphael shook his head.

"But, he _will _recover Raph. That is the important part." Donatello said with grim determination.

* * *

><p><strong>phew, rough chapter I know, but I hope everyone enjoyed it.=)<strong>

**Thoughts and opinions always welcome!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Good news, got this chapter up early, so please enjoy!**

**A giant thank you as always to Amoraphoenix for beta reading this chapter and for some very evil(but good) ideas and suggestions.**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers Rocky181, Chibiwolf33, Kaaayyytteee and mela989898!**

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><p><span>Chapter 13<span>

**Leonardo** drifted back toward consciousness on a sea of churning agony. He forced himself to open his eyes and was rewarded with bright searing pain that drove itself straight into his skull like a sledgehammer. He squinted painfully as a shadow drifted in front of him cutting off the aching brightness of the light above him.

"Leo, how are you feeling?" Donatello's gentle voice asked him.

_How did he feel?_ He questioned himself. He felt as if his mind was floating around in soft cotton. He could feel the pain of course, but it was as if he had been heavily drugged, and maybe he had. He tried to speak but found he couldn't because there was something lodged in his throat. He lifted up a hand trying to remove whatever it was from his mouth. Something warm clasped his searching hand preventing him from reaching for the unknown object.

"Leo I need you to look at me." Donatello's calm, gentle voice commanded. Leonardo shifted his gaze to look into Donatello's worried, chocolate brown eyes as something blindingly bright was waved in front of each of his eyes. Donatello let out a satisfied grunt.

Leonardo's chest suddenly rose sending black waves of pain skittering across ever nerve in his body. He choked on the tube that was shoved down his throat.

"Leo I need you to calm down." Donatello said soothingly. "I'll take the tube out in a moment, okay?" Donatello said.

Darkness clawed at him, trying to drag him back down. He struggled to stay conscious as he was rolled onto his side. "Careful with him Mikey." Donatello's voice sounded close to his ear. "Okay Leo, I'm going to remove the ventilator tube, okay?" Donatello asked him as if he had a choice in the matter. Pain rippled through him as another breath was forced through his lungs. "I'm going to disconnect you from the machine first and then I will pull the tube out. Leo, stay with me, okay?" Donatello said as Leonardo realized that his eyes had fluttered shut.

_Okay, Donny, I get it._ Leonardo thought to himself as he tried to focus on Donatello's words.

"Take as deep of a breath as you can manage and when you feel me pulling on the tube I want you to blow. Do you understand?" Donatello asked him.

_Yes Donny, big breath and breathe out. I've got it can we get thiis over with now?_ Leonardo said in his head as he nodded slightly. He just wished he felt more awake. Or maybe he didn't. He wasn't even sure anymore. He felt the movement of the tube down his throat and he took as deep a breath as he could. His lungs and chest burned with the effort as he blew out. He felt the tube slowly slide from his throat and he tried not to gag.

A warm hand had slid into his own and he squeezed it tightly, or as tightly as he could because the sensation of the tube sliding out was uncomfortable. That was when he began coughing great hacking, chest splitting barks.

"You're doing good Leo." Michelangelo's soft voice came from somewhere close to his hip. Michelangelo was possibly the one whose hand he had a death grip on.

Finally the tube was out, but Leonardo felt as if he was suffocating. The hacking coughs had filled him with debilitating pain. His lungs burned and screamed at him to take a breath, but it was as if he didn't have control of his own lungs.

"Come on Leo, you can do this." Michelangelo said encouragingly.

Leonardo squeezed his eyes shut as blackness threatened to overwhelm him. It hurt, the pain was too much.

"Damn it Leo, breathe already." Raphael's voice growled in his ear.

Leonardo slowly opened his eyes as he looked into the gaunt, pale face of his red clad brother. His vision was beginning to spot. He couldn't do it. _Didn't Raphael realize how much pain he was in?_

"He isn't breathing Donny." Michelangelo's voice wavered in fear. "Do something!" Michelangelo said in panic.

Leonardo could hear a scraping noise of something being pulled across a flat surface.

"Just give him another few seconds Donny." Raphael said softy. Raphael's amber eyes were narrowed with repressed anger. "Breathe!" Raphael barked. Leonardo felt his eyes widen in surprise. "Please." Raphael said softly, his voice breaking around the word as tears welled up in Raphael's eyes.

_Was he really that bad?_ Leonardo wondered to himself. _Was he really that hurt? Hurt enough for Raphael to cry?_ _Raphael never cries...**EVER**. _

"Breathe for Katherine Leo." Raphael whispered.

_Katherine. _

Her name drifted around in his mind like a wisp of a promise. Leonardo closed his eyes and concentrated, forcing himself to accept the pain. A choked gasping sound left his lips as one wheezing breath after another followed.

He could hear the sighs of relief coming from his brothers and their happy exclamations as he concentrated on taking one painful breath after another.

His clouded vision was shifted as he was rolled onto his back again. "Come on Leo, I know you're tired, but I just need you to do one more thing for me, okay?" Donatello asked him softly.

Leonardo opened his eyes and looked at Donatello's worried face. He opened his mouth to mumble out a reply, but only a choking pain filled cough left his mouth.

"You won't be able to talk for a few days." Donatello said as he gripped Leonardo's shoulder, partially to hold him down and partially in comfort as Leonardo tried to curl into a pain filled ball.

"Shhhh Leo, I know it hurts. Just a few more minutes, okay?" Donatello said gently as Leonardo clung onto consciousness.

He nodded to his brother.

"I need you to move the fingers of your right hand." Donatello said to him. Leonardo frowned in concentration as he moved the fingers of his right hand and then his left, because he knew Donatello would ask. Though Leonardo was unsure why his brother wanted him to move his fingers. _What had happened to him?_ He wondered foggily.

"Right foot Leo." Donatello requested.

Michelangelo gripped his left hand tightly. Leonardo wondered where Raphael was but was distracted when he found his foot hadn't readily obeyed his command.  
>Surprised he realized that for some reason his brother's believed he was paralyzed. <em>What the shell happened?<em> He wondered again as he stared at his feet in growing horror. His legs were covered with a blanket, but he could feel that his right leg was in a cast of some sort. _Had he broken his leg? _He wondered.

He could hear his brother's softly talking around him but he wasn't concentrating on their voices, instead he was concentrating on moving his foot. Ever so slowly he felt and then saw his toes twitch. He tried one foot and then the other. He breathed out a sigh of relief that ended in a couching fit that pushed him to the edge of unconsciousness.

"You did good Leo." Donatello said softly as he blurrily looked at his brother's relieved face. Michelangelo was grinning from ear to ear in relief.

Leonardo rolled his head to the side as he finally found Raphael sitting on the floor, leaning up against Donatello's work bench with his eyes tightly shut. Tears streamed silently down his brother's cheeks wetting scarlet fabric turning it dark crimson.

_If his other brothers were so happy, why was Raphael so miserable?_ Leonardo wondered as his consciousness was wrapped up in soft, cool silk and pulled into the dark. Katherine's name echoing in his head.

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><p><em><strong>Raphael<strong> had gripped Leonardo's hand in his own when his brother had begun to struggle while Donatello was taking the ventilator tube out. Michelangelo had stood beside him and encouraged Leonardo, which he had been thankful for, because Raphael had been so choked up he couldn't even speak. Leonardo's grip had been as light and delicate as a baby bird's. _

_Raphael had then been horrified when Leonardo hadn't been able to breathe on his own. He had finally been able to swallow down the lump that had been choking him and encouraged, no begged, Leonardo to breathe, and he had. Relief had washed through him as Leonardo took each successive struggling breath._

_Raphael had finally moved out of Donatello's way so Michelangelo could take a turn holding Leonardo's hand in comfort and encouragement._

_Donatello had then asked Leonardo to move his fingers first, which he had, and then had asked him to move his toes, which he hadn't been able to. Donatello had tried to encourage Leonardo to try again while Michelangelo had questioned Donatello about Leonardo's lack of foot movement. Raphael had staggered away in horror. The thought that his brother was paralyzed was terrifying. Black spots had danced in front of his eyes as he found himself slumped on the ground. A cheer was raised as Leonardo managed to finally move his feet. _

Raphael leaned against Donatello's work bench and closed his eyes in relief. He couldn't hold onto his tears any longer. The tears that had been choking him for the last few hours finally fell. They rolled into his mask wetting it before they continued to roll down his cheeks in silent streams.

_Leonardo was going to be okay. He had woken up, was breathing on his own and was not paralyzed. _He thought with relief. His thoughts turned then to Katherine, the image of her pale form lying alone in a sterile hospital bed sent a pang misery through him. The image of doctors doing the same thing to her that they had just done to Leonardo filled him with fear, anger and regret, because he couldn't be there to comfort her. He couldn't hold her hand and tell her that everything was going to be okay and that she was going to be fine because he wasn't there. He couldn't even tell her that he was sorry for failing her and that he loved her more than anything.

Tears of anger filled regret and misery mixed in with his tears of relief. He took a deep steadying breath as he hoped and prayed that Katherine was alright.

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><p><strong>Deon<strong> looked at the young woman who lay in the hospital bed. He held her chart in his hands and a nurse walked in to check the monitors and any sign of improvement. "Hello Dr. Heath. The nurse said pleasantly."

"Diane." He said with a friendly nod. "Is Dr. Conami going to be in today?" She asked him.

"Not today." He answered. "He'll be by tomorrow though." He said with a reassuring smile.

The nurse changed out the saline bag and quietly left the room. Deon glanced at the door and slid into the chair beside the bed. He studied 'Michelle'. The name on the woman's chart read Michelle Witaker, which Deon had remembered was the name of Barry's high school crush. Which meant that this woman was not 'Michelle' because she was far too young, for another he knew that Michelle was a brunette, while the woman in the bed was not.

Of course Deon had not dug too deep into the reason his friend was lying , even to him, to hide this woman's identity, because he knew Barry never did anything without a reason. Barry had gone so far to keep his involvement with the woman in the bed hidden, that he had hired a coma specialist (Dr. Conami) who was at the hospital doing 'a study' on the woman. He no doubt was, but he was also getting a hefty pay check to lend his expertise as well as keep his mouth shut about who had hired him.

Deon on the other hand was not getting paid to keep an eye on her, but he was Dr. Conami's 'assistant Dr. Heath'. Which was why he was allowed to come and go at all hours of the day and night.

Which brought him back to his silent contemplation of the mysterious woman in the bed. Barry was hiding her, and whoever she was, she had no visitors.

She was pretty he supposed, now that the bruising and cuts had healed. She was a little white bread for him, but he knew Barry probably had his eye on her. Though he suspected that the hair she now had was not the hair she had come in with. That is unless she regularly walked around with hair that looked to have been cut by an angry beaver.

Parts had been cut off with scissors, and the part of her head where she had the head injury had been shaved to allow for stitching the gash closed. It had grown during the past month but it appeared to have lost its pigment, if the tips of her hair were anything to go by.

"Barry, Barry, Barry. What have you got yourself into?" He questioned the woman. She was still in a coma but she was improving. Considering she had come in at a number 3 on the Glasgow scale, she had made her way up to 7. Which was still considered severe, but it was progress. Her cerebral cortex had been damaged and he knew that it would take time for it to heal. He wasn't sure when she would regain consciousness, but he was hoping it was going to be soon. He could tell his friend was incredibly worried.

Deon's gaze shifted to the closet in the corner of her private room. Barry had given him the duffel bag with strict instructions to place it in the closet and not to look at in it. Which meant that he had followed the first half of his instructions and ignored the second. He had opened the bag and discovered a US passport for Michelle Witaker along with a few thousand dollars in cash, Barry's cell phone number and some clothing. Deon had closed the bag thoughtfully and wondered what his friend was up to.

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><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> drifted in the dark. A soft voice echoed in his head.

_You will live._

Leonardo wondered who had told him that. Donatello? Michelangelo? It wasn't Raphael. He knew that much.

_You will live._

He slowly became aware of a voice raised in anger. He then became aware of excruciating pain every time he took a breath. It felt as if tiny razors were shredding the insides of his lungs. He took another gasping breath and found he couldn't get enough air. It was as if he was drowning.

"Donny this is ridiculous!" Raphael's voice was raised in anger.

"It isn't ridiculous Raph, it is a complication." Donatello's calm even voice answered.

"All there have been is complications Donny!" Raphael roared, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

Donatello sighed. "Between the septicaemia and the ventilator Leo's immune system is very weak, which allowed the pneumonia to settle deeply into his lungs."

Leonardo breathed in another razor filled breath of air. _Didn't Donatello realize that he was slowly dying over here?_ He wondered in panic. _Stop talking and help me! _He pleaded in his head.

"I've put him on oxygen so his lungs don't have to work as hard and he is on antibiotics. Hopefully his lungs will clear up in a few weeks." Donatello said in a matter of fact voice.

"Hopefully? Hopefully? Donny could he...?" Raphael left his question unasked.

"His immune system is severely compromised Raph, all we can do is wait and hope that with the help of the antibiotics, he is able to fight off the infection." Donatello said softly.

Leonardo barked out a pain filled agonizing rush of air. One rusty razor filled cough after another rent his ribcage in two. He tried to scream his agony pleading with his body to let him fall blissfully into painless unconsciousness. He could feel tears running down his cheeks he hurt so much that he couldn't help them.

Donatello had rushed over and tried to sooth him, but he thrashed. He just wanted the pain to stop. At that moment he didn't care if he died, it hurt too much to live, because at least he wouldn't feel the claws that dug into his lungs and ripped and tore them to shreds.

"Leo, you have to calm down." Donatello said as he thrashed in his brother's grip. Leonardo didn't know what was going on, he didn't know what had happened to him. His frantic eyes searched the room and found that the one he sought was absent.

"Kath..." He managed to croak out. _Where was Katherine?_ His mind screamed at him.

Raphael looked as if he had been punched in the gut, tears sat shimmering in front of honey brown eyes.

Raphael knelt down in front of him. "You fight to live for Katherine, you got that Leo?" Raphael said in a choked sob.

Leonardo's world slowly became less painful and turned fuzzy around the edges as he was thankfully dragged back into unconsciousness.

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><p><strong>Raphael<strong> glared at Donatello as his brother pulled the needle from the IV in the back of Leonardo's hand.

"Did you really have to drug him?" He asked softly as he hastily brushed away the tears that threatened to fall before Donatello noticed. He felt too emotionally raw. He was so relieved that his brother had finally regained consciousness, but to see him in so much pain had brought tears to his eyes.

"He was going to hurt himself." Donatello defended.

"How long you gonna keep sedating him Donny?" Raphael asked gruffly.

"Raph," Donatello sighed. "I am just keeping him comfortable. Pneumonia is incredibly painful, add this to his flail ribs and Leo is in an excruciating amount of pain. He will be a little more comfortable in a few days. He will still be in pain, but at least his ribs will be halfway to being healed." Donatello said to him.

Raphael looked over at Leonardo's now peaceful face. "Okay Donny." He replied softly even though the truth was that he wanted Leonardo to be awake and aware of what was going on around him.

Leonardo's birthday had come and gone without celebration. Raphael had marked his brother's birthday by giving thanks that his brother was still alive.

The cast on Leonardo's arm had been removed, though the leg one had to stay on a while longer. Leonardo's arm had looked horrible, having lost a great deal of it's muscle due to the inactivity. Not that the rest of his brother looked any better.

It had been 13 days since they had determined that Leonardo wasn't paralyzed, and seven since they had discovered that Leonardo had pneumonia.  
>Leonardo's breathing had become more laboured, his coughing more mucous filled. That was when Donatello had informed them that Leonardo had pneumonia. Raphael and Michelangelo had both been devastated. It felt as if it was one thing after another and that Leonardo was never going to catch a break and that eventually something was just going to finally kill him.<p>

Raphael rubbed a scarred hand down his face. "You need to get some sleep Raph." Donatello said gently.

"I know Donny, but I can't, not until Leo's awake, like, really awake." He said with a shake of his head.

Donatello gave him a worried frown and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Katherine will forgive you for you not being able to be there for her. She would want you to be here with Leo." Donatello said while squeezing his shoulder gently.

Raphael swallowed a lump in his throat. "Why hasn't that bastard called?" His voice was gruff and filled with too much worry and fear. "Why can't we just call him?"

Donatello sighed as he answered the question that Raphael had already asked too many times to count.

"He said he would call if anything changed, and Barry didn't give us his cell number or his home number in case whoever did this to Kitten and Leo decided to monitor him. You know this Raph. If you had his number you would be calling him every hour for an update. Mix this with our phones that are untraceable and then we would just be handing Kitten over on a silver platter." Donatello said reasonably.

Raphael nodded but couldn't help feeling as if Katherine would never be able to forgive him for dragging her into danger in the first place.

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><p><em><strong>Leonardo<strong> opened his eyes, yawned and stretched. He felt his muscles pull pleasantly, his joints cracking and popping a little. He quickly changed out of his sleeping sweats and into his workout clothes. He was going to practice some katas before breakfast._

_He snagged his swords as he strode from his room. He made his way to the main floor going through the kitchen on the way to the dojo. Michelangelo was already sitting at the kitchen table stuffing a spoon of cereal into his mouth._

_"You're up early Mikey." He said with a smile to his baby brother._

_Michelangelo smiled back at him, raising a cereal filled spoon in a mock salute and winked. "I'm not up early Leo, I just haven't made it to bed yet." He said with a laugh._

_Leonardo chuckled and shook his head as Donatello walked into the kitchen and made a beeline for the coffee pot. "Rough night Donny?" He asked._

_Donatello poured himself a cup of coffee and puffed out an irritated breath. "If I can just get the capacitors to all fire at the same time..." Donatello mumbled to himself as he took a grateful sip of coffee that had probably been sitting in the pot half the night._

_Leonardo restrained a shudder. "Where's Raph, still sleeping?" He asked._

_Both of his brother's looked at him as if he had grown a second head._

_"He's with his wife." Donatello was the first to answer. Donatello gave him a concerned look._

_Leonardo felt as if he had been punched in the gut. "Right." He said with a strained smile. "I keep forgetting." He said to his concerned brothers._

_"It's been a year Leo, geez." Michelangelo said with a shake of his head as he finished off his cereal._

_He gave a brittle smile and escaped from the kitchen before his brothers could ask him any more probing questions._

_He entered the dojo, cleared his mind and began a series of katas. His blades moved swiftly and accurately, moving in perfect symmetry._

_When he had finished he was drenched with sweat and he noticed his one arm and leg seemed to hurt more than they should. Even his breathing seemed a little strained._

_He rubbed the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand. He knew he was getting old, but not that old. He hadn't even hit 30 yet. Though since the truce with Karai and the devastation of the Purple Dragons things had been quiet of late. Maybe it was the lack of Raphael's presence that made things seem so quiet._

_He dragged a hand down his face as he shook his head. He couldn't believe that he had asked where Raphael was. Of course he was with Katherine. After all, he had been at the wedding. Casey had acted as Best Man while April had been Katherine's Maid of Honour. Katherine's mother had given her away and so many of their friends had been there. The Justice Force had shown up, so had Leatherhead and Professor Honeycutt. There were a few Utroms and even Karai had attended the event._

_Their marriage wasn't anything that the humans would ever recognize, but it meant everything to Raphael and Katherine. And the wedding had been beautiful, no matter how much it hurt his heart to watch the woman he loved marry his brother. Of course neither Katherine nor Raphael knew of his feelings for her. After all, Raphael had loved her first and Katherine loved Raphael, so he had kept silent on his feelings for her._

_Leonardo had contemplated leaving, but soon realized that his other two brothers still needed him, and besides, he only really ever saw Raphael and Katherine together during the holidays._

_Leonardo lifted his swords from his back and placed them on their rack. He needed to shower and get cleaned up. He stumbled a little as he walked because there was a pain burning in his right thigh. He frowned and massaged the muscle, wondering if he had pulled it somehow._

_"You okay Leo?" Raphael's voice asked from behind him._

_Leonardo's head snapped around in surprise. "I...pulled muscle." He stammered. "What are you doing here Raph?" He asked his brother as his eyes scanned the lair for Katherine, but did not see her anywhere._

_Raphael shrugged. "Just thought I would stop by and say hi." He said with a grin._

_Leonardo gave his brother a weak smile. Raphael looked good. His temper had all but vanished and he was genuinely happy. Katherine had been good for Raphael, and for that he had been thankful._

_"Katherine painting today?" He asked his brother._

_Raphael shook his head. "She's around here somewhere. She misses you guys too you know. We've wanted to come by before this, but we always seem to be so busy." Raphael said with an embarrassed smile. "But knowing Kitten she's probably with Mikey."_

_Leonardo slowly nodded his head. "I've got to go shower up." He said as he patted his brother's shoulder as he walked past him to the bathroom._

_He closed the bathroom door and leaned against it. It wasn't as if he could avoid his brother and his wife forever. He sighed as he walked to the sink, looking at himself in the mirror. He was a little thinner than he used to be, but he was working on that. He pulled his sweat laden shirt over his head and threw it on the floor. He reached for his pants when he noticed Katherine was standing behind him in the mirror, with her back at the door. He quickly turned, a blush creeping up his face, his heart slamming against his ribs at her proximity._

_"K...Katherine. Wh..what are you doing in here?" He stammered out to her._

_She tipped her head to the side slightly and smiled at him. It was the smile that always lit his world._

_"I think that would be obvious." She said in a reasonable voice as she took a step towards him._

_He swallowed and took a step back, only there was nowhere to go. His carapace bumped against the sink._

_"Y...you shouldn't be in here." He said to her in a strained voice._

_"And where exactly should I be?" She questioned._

_"Wi...with Raph."_

_"Should I?" She asked curiously as she continued to walk towards him._

_"Yes of course. Katherine, he is your husband, you married him." He couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice._

_"Did I ?" She questioned again._

_"Of course you did." He said in confusion as she came close enough to touch._

_"I want to know something." She said softly as she stepped into him._

_Leonardo could smell the soft scent of flowers that drifted around her. She was too close. He needed her to back away from him because he didn't want to stupidly do something he knew he would regret later._

_"Katherine you can't...please move back." He pleaded in a strained whisper._

_Instead of obeying she plastered her body against his and gently placed a hand on his cheek. His traitorous arms wrapped themselves around her as he buried his face in her hair. "I love you." He whispered to her. "I'm sorry, I know it's wrong and I know you love Raph, but I love you." His voice come out choked with emotion._

_She pulled him away slightly and smiled gently at him, her eyes filled with a love he didn't deserve and could never have._

_Something wet dripped and rolled down his arm. He ignored whatever it was and brushed a thumb across her cheek leaving a streak of blood. He stared at the streak of blood in confusion and wondered if he had somehow cut himself on his swords without noticing._

_"Leonardo," She said as she leaned into him her lips pressed close to his ear. "I would like to know why?" She asked softly a hint of sadness in her voice._

_"I don't know why I love you." He replied softly. "I mean, I know why I love you but..." He cut himself off because this conversation was not appropriate._

_"Leonardo, why did you fail me?" She asked softly._

_He pulled her away from him and looked into her tear filled eyes. "I...I..." He stammered in confusion. How had he failed her? He wondered._

_"I saved your life three times, was it really too much to ask for you to save me, just once?" She asked her voice wavering in misery._

_"I don't..." He shook his head in confusion._

_"I can't believe that you've forgotten already. Did I really mean so little to you?" She said shaking her head in remorse._

_"Katherine I don't..."_

_"You've forgotten that you killed me." She said her voice raising in tear choked anger._

_Leonardo glanced down at his hands which had somehow worked their way around her neck. He pulled his hands away of if they had been burned. Around Katherine's neck was a metal collar with numbers that were quickly counting down the seconds. There was less than a minute left. He stared at his hands in shock. They were covered in blood and he realized, it was Katherine's. He stumbled back in horror his carapace hitting something hard._

_Katherine slowly turned from him. He tried to reach out to her, but he was unable to. He looked up at his wrists which were suddenly above his head, bound to a concrete wall with metal chains._

_He looked that the chains in horror as he strained against them._

_Katherine looked over her shoulder at him as crimson tears ran down her blood streaked cheeks._

_He roared as he strained to get to her, to go to her, to save her. But no matter how hard or how much he struggled he couldn't get to her. Flames roared around her, surrounding her. He saw her face flickering in the fire light._

_"Just once." She whispered over the crackle of the flames._

_The flames roared as they consumed her as bloody rain fell from the ceiling drenching him in Katherine's blood._

Leonardo screamed his misery and agony as he sat bolt upright, or at least he tried to as hands gently but firmly held him down.

He could feel salty tears, warm and wet streaming down his cheeks as he sobbed out his horror.

"Leo, I know it hurts, but you have to lay down." Raphael's gruff voice told him.

Leonardo's eyes snapped open as he stared in shock at his red clad brother. Guilt choked him as he looked into his brother's gaunt, tired features.

Leonardo could feel the pain that radiated across his chest, but it was nothing compared to the pain of looking into his brother's eyes and knowing that he was responsible for Raphael losing the woman he loved.

"'m...ssorry." He said to his brother. His words coming out slightly slurred. The oxygen mask over his mouth fogging up with each stammered word.

"Hey, it's okay Leo, I'm just gonna get Donny okay." He said calmly as he pulled away.

Leonardo clutched desperately at Raphael's arm.

"It's okay Leo, you're safe okay?" His brother said as he lightly patted his hand. "Donny, Mikey Leo's awake!" Raphael yelled over his shoulder.

He tried to pull Raphael closer as he shook his head from side to side. Something flickered across Raphael's face; Sadness? Grief? Worry? He wasn't sure.

"S..sorry Raph, 'm so, so sorry." Leonardo managed to stammer out.

"Hey don't worry about it bro, I know you didn't mean to get yourself blow up." Raphael said with a strained smile.

Leonardo shook his head again trying to make Raphael understand. Donatello bustled into Leonardo's line of vision.

"Hey Leo, how are you feeling?" Donatello asked him as a light was shined into each of his eyes.

"Ka...She's dead. My fault." He said his words clipped, the tears running down his cheeks.

Each of his brother's stared at him and then looked at each other before turning their gazes back to him.

"Kitten's not dead Leo." Raphael said in a strained voice that tried to be comforting but failed.

"Don't worry bro, we got her out." Michelangelo said to him, his voice not much more comforting than Raphael's.

Leonardo clenched his teeth together in misery and anger. "Don't..." He took an agonizing breath."Lie...to me." He ground out angrily.

"Leo' we're not..." Michelangelo began but he cut his brother off.

"She had a..." He swallowed down the lump in his throat and took another shuddering breath. "Bomb, strapped 'round her throat."

His brother's looked at him in shock, Raphael had paled, his skin going a sickly green-grey.

"She must have disarmed the bomb Leo." Donatello said soothingly.

Leonardo shook his head vehemently. "Tamper proof, less than a minute left." He swallowed and licked his overly dry lips. He began talking again, his voice more steady, more comprehensible. "She saved me. We were supposed to die together. I tried Raph, I tried to get to her but...but she...She left, she ran and then the bomb exploded." He couldn't talk anymore his voice was too raw, his guilt and shame too much to bear. He closed his eyes against his brother's assurances that Katherine was somehow still alive, that they had saved her.

But Leonardo remembered the look of misery on Raphael's face, when he had drifted in and out of consciousness. He had noticed the hastily exchanged looks between his brothers.

"Why would we lie to you about Katherine being alive Leo?" Raphael asked softly.

He finally looked into Raphael's eyes. "To keep me alive." He replied to his brother whose eyes widened in shock. "It's what I would do." He said wretchedly as he tried to roll away from his shocked brothers.

* * *

><p><strong>Well Leo's finally awake, awake, (and miserable and confused) and Kitten is still in a coma... hmmm not fun times...But next chapter should be interesting=)<strong>

**Anyway I hope everyone enjoyed, and please tell me how I am doing;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A big giant thank you to Amorapheonix for Beta reading this chapter and for gioving awesome opinions, ideas and support!**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers hellgirl-fan1, Rocky181,Chibiwolf33 and mela989898!**

**A/N: This chapter spans a whole month so I hope it makes sense and isn't too choppy.**

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><p><span>Chapter 14<span>

_**Leonardo** could hear the soft tolling of bells. The sombre sound seemed to resonate deep down into his very soul. He was in a room with pews lining either side of the row and a black open casket at the far end of the room. He could hear the soft sobs coming from the shadowy figures that occupied the pews, but he could make out no details of who the mourners were, or who occupied the casket. _

_ He slowly walked towards the casket, even though he did not want to know who lay within the satin and wood confines. He could hear the slow drip of water falling from somewhere, which was getting louder the closer to the casket he came. _

_ His attention was caught by a white marble statue of an angel that was leaning over the casket, wings outstretched, hands clasped together in silent prayer. He studied the angel because the features were familiar. The angel's hair fell in a mass of curls, well defined cheekbones met a square jaw and stubborn chin. Cupids bow lips were pulled slightly down in an immobile frown. Tears were running down the cheeks of the angel that had been carved in the likeness of Katherine. _

_ Leonardo swallowed as he carefully made his way up to the casket already knowing whose body lay within. He looked down at his own body as it lay within the confines of the white satin lined casket. A drop of blood hit his immobile cheek, rolling down to stain the white satin. The drop of blood was followed by another as the marble statue of Katherine began to cry bloody tears._

_ He slowly reached out and touched the bloody sai that protruded from his chest as he remembered. _

_ He remembered how he had stumbled from the burning building, Katherine's bloody and broken body clutched in his arms. His brothers had been standing outside the burning building about to charge in after them. He remembered the tears that had rolled down his cheeks as he had choked out his apology to all of his brothers, but mostly to Raphael. Raphael's face had paled as he shook his head in denial. Raphael had reached out and taken Katherine's limp body in his arms as he collapsed with her to onto the ground. Raphael had then thrown back his head letting out a keening wail of anguished filled misery. _

_ Raphael's amber eyes and looked up at him with accusation. Each brother had in turn moved accusing eyes towards him. _

_ "Why didn't you protect her?" Raphael accused as he brushed back Katherine's hair from her bloody face.._

_ Leonardo had stammered out an apology, but he knew no amount of words were ever going to atone for failing Katherine._

_ "I thought you loved her Leo, how could you just let her die?" Michelangelo had asked him, tears streaming down his face in grief. _

_ Leonardo had just shook his head in denial. "I'm sorry." He had whispered._

_ Raphael had gently lay Katherine on the ground and stood, rounding on him with unrestrained rage and fury. "You should have died, not her!" Raphael had raged at him._

_ "How can you even live with yourself?" Donatello had asked him angrily, his eyes misted with unshed tears._

_ His brothers had advanced with a fury of angry punches and kicks. Leonardo hadn't even defended himself. They were right. He had deserved to die, not her, never her._

_ He hadn't even flinched when Raphael, sai in hand, had angrily stalked towards him. The three steel points had been aimed at his heart. "You deserve to die." Raphael said as he plunged his sai straight through Leonardo's plastron and into his heart. _

_ His chest ached._

_ He watched the blood soaked tears fill and overflow his coffin. The flood of blood swirled around his ankles, growing deeper every second. _

_ "I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry." He choked out as he fell to his knees, the bloody tears slowly engulfing him and suffocating him slowly._

Leonardo opened his eyes. His cheeks were wet with the tears he had shed. His breathing was laboured and wheezy as he began a round of pain wracked coughing that split his chest in two and caused his so much pain he was lucky to remain conscious. His hand flew to his chest where his brother's sai had plunged into him, the spot still burning in pain.

Michelangelo gazed at him in worry. "You okay Leo?" His baby brother asked anxiously. "Donny said to give you these." Michelangelo said as he showed him two large white pills in his hand.

Leonardo looked at the pills and shook his head wildly as he tried to catch his breath. It still felt as if he were suffocating. His chest felt as if a sledgehammer was pounding away on his delicate ribs, while his lungs burned as a wildfire raged within them.

He tried to take another pain filled breath and then another before his coughing fit began again.

"I'm getting Donny." Michelangelo said with worry as he ran from his bedroom.

His eyes settled on the bottle of white pills sitting on the edge of the night stand. He reached a shaking hand out, managing to clutch at the bottle.

All he could think about was the excruciating pain he was in. He was supposed to be getting better, but at times, it felt as if the pain had burrowed itself so deeply into his chest that he was never going to be free of it.

He brought the bottle of pills closer as he shakily managed to pop the top off, spilling half the bottle's contents around him.

The pain lashed through him like a thousand burning whips, rending and shredding his delicate lungs.

The dream rippled through his mind, the image of himself lying in a casket, finally at peace. _Would his heart finally be at peace if his body were? _He wondered as he managed to scoop a handful of pills into an unsteady, uncoordinated grip.

He tightly closed his eyes and raised his shaking hand closer to his mouth. He just wanted all of the pain to stop.

A warm gentle hand grasped his own before it reached his parted lips. Leonardo winced in pain as he tried to indicate to his brother that this was the only way to make all of his pain stop. "It's okay Leo. Donny's bringing something much stronger." Raphael's voice said softly.

He didn't look at his brother, instead he closed his eyes more tightly as he let out a sob that turned into a broken, phlegm filled coughing fit.

"This will help Leo." Donatello said as he felt himself gently but firmly pushed back into his bed, the sting of a needle entering near his elbow.

Leonardo's world became less pain wracked and fuzzy around the edges. He was still conscious but everything was ringed in a warm soothing glow. He closed his eyes and drifted, not really awake, but not really asleep either. He could hear the quiet mummer of his brother's worried voices, but couldn't make out the words.

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><p><strong>Michelangelo<strong> glanced at his brothers in worry. Donatello was carefully picking up and placing the white pain pills back into their container while Raphael angrily paced back and forth in the small confines of Leonardo's room.

It had been a week since Leonardo had finally managed to regain and stay conscious. During that week they had moved Leonardo to his room at his request. It was more inconvenient for them but Leonardo didn't care, he wanted to get out of the lab and into his own room. On the other hand it was closer to the bathroom, which Leonardo insisted he be allowed to use. He didn't care what Donatello's orders were, Leonardo had refused to be wiped down like a baby anymore, which meant that every time Leonardo had to use the bathroom, Michelangelo and Donatello would drag Leonardo and the stupid IV pole to the bathroom and then back to his room. Raphael managed to get out of this duty because Leonardo got agitated and upset whenever Raphael was around him, so Raphael had reluctantly stayed away; at least while Leonardo was conscious. When Leonardo was sleeping Raphael was usually sitting beside Leonardo's bed, watching over him.

"He'll get better." Donatello insisted as he put the lid of the pills on with a snap.

Raphael gave a quick glance at Donatello and resumed pacing. "He's still in a lot of pain, isn't he?" Raphael asked as he finally stopped pacing.

"Today is a bad day. He will have good days and bad days. The infection has almost completely cleared up and his ribs should be almost healed. But he will still cough for a few months when he first wakes up in the morning. He will feel better when the drugs wear off."

Raphael's gaze went to the skeletal figure in the bed and quickly glanced away. "How 'bout his mental state Donny?"

Donatello pocketed the pain pills and frowned giving a quick worried glance towards Leonardo before looking back at Raphael and himself. Donatello shook his head. "At the moment I can't tell. He is in too much pain to be thinking straight at the moment. In another few days I will be able to reassess him."

Raphael gave a slight nod. "Just, maybe don't leave any medication within reach, or anything pointy either, just until Leo gets into his right mind again."

Michelangelo felt himself pale at the insinuation that Leonardo had purposefully been trying to hurt himself. "Raph, you don't think..." Michelangelo began but couldn't finish the question.

Raphael just shrugged. "Leo ain't thinkin' straight at the moment. But I'm not sure." Raphael walked up to Leonardo's bed. Raphael knelt down and picked up his brother's limp hand. "You'll get better Leo." Raphael gave Leonardo's hand a quick squeeze before he settled on the floor beside Leonardo's bed still holding his hand tightly.

"I'll go and get Leo's food ready." Michelangelo said as he left the room. He looked over his shoulder as Donatello followed him. They walked in silence as Michelangelo made his way to the Kitchen. He put the water on to boil for Leonardo's oatmeal, and slowly made his way to Donatello's lab.

Donatello was absently playing with a vial of blood, a frown on his face. He slid into a chair next to Donatello. His mind was awash with horror and worry and he needed Donatello's logical opinion.

"Donny, I know you and Raph like to protect me from things, but I can handle stuff better than you think I can." He said to his brother softy.

Donatello spared him a quick glance and nodded his head before turning his head back to the vial of blood. "I know Mikey." He said quietly. "But I told you the truth before. Right now I can't accurately determine the state of Leo's mind. He is in immense pain and he thinks that Kitten is truly dead. Unfortunately, I can't really blame him for thinking that she was killed."

"But Donny she wasn't killed, and we've told Leo a bunch of times that she's still alive. I just don't get why he doesn't believe us. I mean, why would we lie to him?" Michelangelo asked shaking his head in frustration.

Donatello sighed. "Leo doesn't believe us because in his mind there is no way she could have survived. So the logical assumption is that we are lying to him so that he can get better without the bearing the burden of both grief and failure."

Michelangelo blew out another frustrated breath. "But she's alive." He protested.

Donatello sighed wearily. "I know Mikey, but…she's not here. If she was here or even conscious when she went to the hospital we would have had something to tell Leo or she could have talked to him on the phone, told him she was okay. But right now we have a fantastical story about Barry who ran into the burning building, carried her out, brought everyone to his place and then took Kitten to the hospital where he managed to keep her arrival all hush, hush. And I have looked." Donatello said raising his hand and cutting off Michelangelo's next question. "I have hacked into every hospital database in the city and searched through their coma patient lists and no one fit's Katherine's profile even remotely. For all I know Barry could have had her moved out of the city, the state or even the country. I've wanted to return Barry's equipment for the past month, but he has been in and out of the country."

"The equipment!" Michelangelo said suddenly. "We show Leo the ventilator and the heart monitor and Leo will have to believe us."

"Mikey, would you know if I had or didn't have this equipment before Leo was hurt?" Donatello asked him.

Michelangelo felt his little bubble of hope burst. "No." He admitted gloomily.

Donatello tapped the vial of blood absently against his bottom lip. "So how did she do it?"

"Is that Kitten's blood?" Michelangelo asked.

Donatello stopped tapping the vial against his lip as if he didn't realize that he was doing it. "Yes." He said as he looked at the vial.

"So we show Leo the blood." He said excitedly.

"Mikey, this blood could be from anywhere. It doesn't say Katherine on it." Donatello said shaking his head and standing up. He placed the vial back in the fridge and sitting back down. "I haven't been able to run the tests I have been wanting to because I have been so busy with Leo. But now that Leo is getting better, I decided to run some tests and see if I can figure out what was wrong with her. I don't know if it will matter, the hospital may have found whatever was wrong, but they may not have been looking for anything else, just focusing on her current injuries."

"So what's wrong with her?" Michelangelo asked, worry lacing his words.

"I haven't found anything yet. Most of her cell counts are within normal ranges, but I have more tests to run. Just remember, there is no guarantee I am going to be able to determine anything by just a blood test."

Michelangelo deflated slightly and nodded. "So we hope Kitten comes back soon?" He asked in a small voice.

Donatello frowned slightly. "We can only hope Mikey." Donatello said softly. "But we don't know when that will be, so I was thinking that if we figured out how Kitten got out of the collar, maybe Leo will have to believe us."

"Have you figured it out yet?" He asked hopefully.

Donatello's shoulders slumped and he shook his head. "That is why I can't blame Leo for believing that she is dead. I mean, how did she do it? She did it, but how? She had less than a minute, and Leo knows the bomb went off, and we know there was an initial bomb that went off before the rest of the bombs began exploding, so if the collar did indeed explode how did she remove it? Leo said it was tamper proof and that if she tried to remove it, it would explode. If she tried to disarm it, it would explode. I keep thinking that maybe it didn't explode, or maybe it was a fake and the bomb that went off was somewhere else in the building. Which doesn't help I'm afraid." He said as he slumped further in his chair.

Michelangelo nodded and stood giving his brother's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Do you think he's going to be okay?" He asked quietly.

Donatello shrugged. "Leo has always taken defeat and failure harder than the rest of us. This was a big blow for him."

"I wasn't talking about Leo, I was talking about Raph." Michelangelo said with a hint of worry in his voice. "Between worrying about Leo and Kitten, he is wearing himself out. He's almost as skinny as Leo."

Donatello puffed out a breath. "I know." He said with a nod. "I'll try to talk to him."

Mikey nodded as he went to take Leonardo his dinner.

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><p><strong>Barry<strong> looked at the phone in his hand and then absently tucked it into his pocket. He had just spoken with Deon, which meant that he was going to have to call Katherine's mother to tell her that Katherine's condition was steadily improving. She was still in a coma, but she was getting better.

"Signore?" A soft feminine voice asked him.

"Scusi Bella." He said with a charming smile. "I'll take it. Sí." He said with a nod as he looked around the villa and the surrounding hillside again.

He had been scouring Europe for the perfect location for Katherine to begin a new life. He had finally settled on Italy, specifically Tuscany. He figured that because Katherine was both a lover of history and art, that Italy would be the perfect place for her to live. He rubbed his sweating palms on his pants as he thought about Katherine actually being here. He would prefer it if it were with himself, but he would understand if she needed to take things a little slow. After all, someone had tried to kill her, she will have been in a coma for nearly 3 months, and she just broke up with her...boyfriends.

Barry shook his head as he removed the last thought from his mind, because it was something he really couldn't wrap his head around. He was unsure how to feel about her not only having dated one but two mutant turtles, and both at the same time. Barry did the only thing he could do with that information and stored it under not important. The important thing was that he was setting things up for Katherine to go into hiding, for as long as she needed to hide for.

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><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> glanced down at his ruined leg.

It had been two weeks since his nightmare of Raphael stabbing him through the heart had ripped through his tormented mind and Donatello had just removed his leg cast and he was able to view the full extent of the damage. The inch wide knotty scar ran from the top of his thigh almost to his knee. He was also able to see the extensive loss of muscle mass his leg had suffered. Although, if he was honest with himself, his overall weight had suffered as well if the mirror in the bathroom was any indication of what the past two and a half months had done to him.

Though truthfully, he didn't care. Donatello had told him the extent of his injuries and what he had done to save his life. Leonardo hadn't even been horrified when Donatello had told him that he had performed a spinal tap on him. Donatello had looked at him as if he had expected him to yell at him or something, instead he had just nodded weakly as Donatello worriedly explained about his other injuries.

He would walk again, in another month he could get around on crutches, but he couldn't train for a year. Donatello had warned him that it would take a lot of physiotherapy to get his leg working again and to expect to have a pronounced limp for a few years.

Leonardo had appreciated Donatello's tact and light hand when delivering the news, but he would have appreciated the truth more. Leonardo knew Donatello was setting him up to not be disappointed when it was revealed that he would never be able to fight again. It didn't matter if by some miracle he could fight again, he knew he never would, because he knew that he was useless. He hadn't been able to save Katherine's life and his failure would haunt him for the rest of his life, however long that may be.

Michelangelo bustled in with a warm bowl of oatmeal, sitting down in a chair by his bed and scooted it closer.

Leonardo turned his head away from the spoon that was shoved at his beak.

"Come on Leo, you have to eat or else Donny is going to put you back on the feeding tube." Michelangelo pleaded with him.

"I'm not hungry Mikey." Leonardo replied softly. Hurt flashed across his baby brother's face. Leonardo turned his face away in guilt for having caused his baby brother pain.

His baby brother sighed. "I know you don't like being fed like you're a baby Leo, but until you can feed yourself you don't really have a choice." Michelangelo pointed out.

"I can feed myself Mikey." Leonardo said defiantly as he reached out and took the spoon shakily from Michelangelo's grasp.

"Then do it." Michelangelo said with irritation.

"I already told you Mikey, I'm not hungry." Leonardo said dropping the spoon.

Michelangelo's eyes narrowed at him and crossed his arms over his chest, a smug grin on his face. "Leo, if you don't eat that entire bowl of oatmeal, I am not helping you to the bathroom. Donny says that you aren't supposed to be moving out of bed for another two weeks anyway."

Leonardo looked at his brother in shock, his mouth dropping open slightly. He turned his head away and closed his eyes and mouth in irritation. "You wouldn't." He whispered.

"Makes no difference to me Leo, I've been doing it for over a month, not to mention the sponge baths, we can start those again too if you want." Michelangelo said with an impishly sly grin.

Leonardo cringed inwardly. He couldn't do it. He couldn't take that sort of ministration from his brothers. He turned his head back towards Michelangelo and held out his hand for the bowl. Michelangelo grinned more broadly and gave him the bowl. Leonardo picked up the spoon that he had let fall on his blanket. Leonardo took a tentative bite and grimaced in disgust.

"There's a good big brother." Michelangelo said as he stood. "I'll be back if a few."

"Mikey?" He asked, his brother turning towards him in question. "Does Raph hate me?" He questioned, his voice wavering with grief.

"Of course not Leo." Michelangelo said softly, walking back towards his bed.

"How can he not?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Because Kitten isn't dead." Michelangelo's voice turned harsh with exhasperation.

Leonardo closed his eyes. He didn't believe his brothers that Katherine had somehow managed to escape, it was impossible. He searched Michelangelo's face for signs of deceit and couldn't find any. Both Michelangelo and Donatello were horrible liars, but Leonardo thought that if they both believed his life was on the line, they would lie to him and do it extraordinarily well.

"Leo I know you don't believe us, and I really wish you would, but...I just want you to know that we will all get through this, okay?" Michelangelo said resting his hand on Leonardo's shoulder reassuringly.

He looked into his brother's earnest eyes and nodded reluctantly, because it was all he could do.

Michelangelo gave a slight smile, nodded, stood and walked from his room. Leonardo looked at the bowl of oatmeal and set it on the nightstand beside him. Tears filled his vision. He blinked back his tears as Raphael strode into his room.

"They still shovin' your face full of this crap?" Raphael asked pointing a finger at the grey blob in the bowl as he plopped a plate in his lap. "It's no wonder you aren't eatin', I wouldn't eat either. I would have brought a steak, but we don't have any, so I made you a burger, best I could do."

Leonardo cringed away from Raphael.

"Hey my cookin' ain't that bad. Kitten taught me to make a decent burger."

Leonardo looked at the burger, not daring to look at Raphael's face. The mention of Katherine sent a knife straight through his heart, ripping him open and making him emotionally raw.

He felt a tear slide down his cheek.

"Awh come on Leo, it's just a damn burger. No need to cry over it. Geesh!" Raphael said, his voice gentling, which just made it worse. His brother was trying to make him feel better, when it should be the other way around. He should be comforting his brother in his time of grief, but he couldn't, because he was the reason his brother was grieving in the first place.

"Okay Leo, you are really startin' to piss me off." Raphael's voice had lowered. "This self pitying thing is getting old. And look at me when I am talkin' to you." Raphael growled as Leonardo felt his brother's fingers roughly grab his chin and turn his head to face his brother's angry honey brown eyes.

"I watched her die Raph." He whispered miserably.

"I am only gonna tell you this once more. Katherine ain't dead and you are gonna fight again, kay, so stop this." Raphael growled angrily his fingers tightening on Leonardo's jaw hard enough to leave bruises later. But his brother's growl couldn't quite cover the hitch of sadness the threaded through his anger filled voice.

Leonardo closed his eyes against his brother's lies and the pain of Raphael's grip on his jaw. Suddenly Raphael's hand dropped as if he just realized how hard he was gripping Leonardo's jaw. But Leonardo continued his thought before his brother interrupted him. "Before the bomb killed her, she was already dead Raph. I watched her. She knew she was going to die, that there was no way she was going to be able to escape and she was okay with that, but..." His voice hitched as his brother remained silent. "I had to watch her break herself, one tiny bit at a time so that she could shoot me. She was going to kill me Raph. I know she was. Because when she looked at me there was nothing left of Katherine. Katherine had been ripped apart by that part of her that had let her kill Hun." He finished miserably.

"She's not dead." Raphael managed to say in a choked voice.

"Doesn't matter." He said softly.

"Fine Leo, you want to wallow, then wallow. I am through with worrying about you and tryin to keep you alive! Go and die for all I care!" Raphael yelled. Leonardo winced at the clatter of the chair Raphael had been sitting in, fell to the floor.

His door was slammed shut with a slam.

Raphael's anger with him made him feel better. At least that was more the emotion he deserved from his brother.

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><p><strong>Raphael<strong> slammed Leonardo's door behind him. He leaned against the door as horrified tears ran down his face. _What the hell did he just say to his depressed and probably suicidal brother? _Raphael thought with apprehension. He had instantly regretted his words to Leonardo, but what Leonardo had said to him had cut him to the very bone. _What if Leonardo was right?_ He asked himself._ And even though Katherine was still alive, what if she had dug herself so deep into some sort of psychological black hole, that she couldn't climb out? What if Katherine's mind had finally shattered and there was no way of putting all the pieces back together?_

Raphael fought to swallow down the bile that rose in his throat as he pushed himself away from his brother's door and stumbled towards his own room.

A few hours later Raphael emerged and slwoly made his way back to his older brother's room. Leonardo was still and silent. He slowly made his way to his brother's bedside and knelt on the floor next to the bed. The burger he had was gone, so either he had eaten it or one of his other brothers had taken it away. He gently picked up his brother's limp hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Leonardo turned his head slightly. Raphael wasn't sure if his brother was fully awake yet, but Raphael spoke anyway.

"I didn't mean what I said Leo. I would never want you dead, ever. No matter what happened or what you did, you're my brother, and I love you." Raphael said softly. The only reply he got was the gentle squeeze of his brother's hand in his.

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><p><strong>Karai<strong> paced back and forth angrily as a foot soldier knelt in front of her. "Well, anything?" She snapped in irritation.

"No Mistress." The foot soldier said to her. "We have scoured the city, have watched their human friends and monitored the woman's house and have found no sign of either the turtles or Katherine Brooks."

"You may leave." Karai ordered with a swift motion of her hand.

Karai silently fumed as she wondered where they were. It had been three months since the abandoned police building across the river had exploded, and the rumours had begun that The Face had managed to kill all four turtles and Katherine Brooks in the blast. This rumour had resulted in the destabilization of her tentative control even more.

All signs pointed to her former enemies' demise, and yet she could not believe that their death's were orchestrated so quickly and efficiently. Karai frowned in thought. She had no proof that they were dead, on the other hand, she had no proof that they were alive either.

Karai weighed her options carefully. "Dr. Stockman." She said as she touched a screen that came alive on her desk. "The turtles are dead, and so is Miss Brooks." She said angrily.

Dr. Stockman let out a triumphant laugh. "I mean, what a shame. And they were to be your trump cards. So what now Karai? How are you going to keep your little empire afloat?" He asked gleefully.

"Watch your mouth Stockman. I am paying you to help me." She growled.

"I am well aware." Stockman said with what she guessed was a phantom eye roll.

"What is your progress with the new weaponry I have asked you to build?" She asked ignoring his previous comment.

"Brilliance takes time." He said with irritation.

"Just work faster. The Face has been quiet and I know it will not last. And Dr. Stockman, let me remind you that insubordination will not be tolerated."

"I know Karai, but really, there are no more pieces of me left for you to cut off." Dr. Stockman said angrily.

"I could still kill you." She threatened.

"And then you would not have my brilliance. Do not attempt to threaten me Karai." He said as the monitor went black.

Karai contemplated the black screen thoughtfully, but did not voice her thoughts aloud.

Karai was a firm believer in looking at the facts. She was logical, but she also listened to her instincts, and her instincts told her not to trust Stockman, and that the turtles were harder to kill than cockroaches. She just hoped that her planning would pay off, and that the turtles and Miss Brooks would pick up the play when she tossed them the ball.

* * *

><p><strong>Mr. White<strong> smiled serenely at his boss.

"You had me worried about your competence Mr. White." The Face said to him in a gravelly voice.

Mr. White smiled. "I told you that they didn't escape. Three months and no sign of them and according to our mole, Karai Saki has also accepted their demise."

"So everything is going according to plan." The Face mused to himself. "We shall slowly pick apart Karai Saki's empire one gang at a time, and I shall watch her empire crumble."

"Orders boss?" He asked, wanting to get out of the hotel room.

"Nothing for now. I want to watch Karai Saki squirm like a worm on a hook. I will crush her. Very. Slowly."

Mr. White gave a quick nod and turned, walking for the door. He strode down the hallway, whistling a jaunty tune, a smile on his face. He stopped and waited for the elevator hitting the down button a few times. The elevator opened and he walked in. He hit his floor and waited until the doors opened again.

He sauntered into the empty corridor and walked to his room. He swiped his card through the reader. Suddenly every hair on his body stood on end. He glanced up and down the corridor, which was silent and empty.

He swallowed as he shakily entered his room. _He did not believe in ghosts._ He said to himself as he shook off the feeling that someone had just walked over his grave.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> slowly became aware. Sound drifted through her mind as she tried to understand what had happened and where she was before she opened her eyes.

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><p><strong>Yay Kitten is awake! <strong>

**Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!**

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Happy New year everyone! I was hoping to have this chapter up before christmas, but that didn't happen, but that's okay I think the wait will have been worth it... I hope;)**

**A big thank you as always to Amoraphoenix for not only beta reading this chapter but also for adding a big huge chunk of the Leo scene at the end.**

**Also thanks to my reviewers Chibiwolf33, Mela989898, hellgirl-fan1, and Kaaayyytteee.**

**Anyway please enjoy! (for those of you wanting a happy chapter, I apologize in advance) But sometimes you have ot make your room really messy in order to clean it up;)**

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><p><span>Chapter 15<span>

**Michelangelo** walked into Donatello's lab. "Still working on Kitten's blood?" He asked his older brother as he sat down next to him.

"Yes." Donatello said blowing out a frustrated breath. "Is Leo still sleeping?" He asked.

"Yup. Raph is hovering over him like a mother hen, so no worries there." He said

with a soft smile.

Donatello gave an abstracted nod. "Mikey what were Katherine's symptoms again?" Donatello asked him. "I have been trying to pinpoint something, but with just a blood test I don't have a lot to go on other than to know that her liver enzymes are within normal ranges and so are her other organs."

Michelangelo leaned back in the chair a frown on his face. He thought about Katherine's symptoms. "She was really tired all the time." Michelangelo began. "Didn't eat much, said the thought of food made her nauseous."

Donatello nodded. "Fatigue, nausea, what else?" He questioned.

Michelangelo shrugged. "There was that time that she tripped."

"She could have just tripped." Donatello said to him.

"Maybe... maybe not." He replied uncertainly.

"Kitten really wasn't eating, but she never really seemed to lose any weight."

Donatello said thoughtfully.

"Nope." He agreed. "You know," He said thoughtfully. "Kitten kinda reminded me a little of how April was. You know, not really wanting to eat at first then April's boobs got huge, and when Kitten was in that little black dress she looked a little…What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Donatello was looking at him in shock, his mouth dropping open slightly.

"I said kinda." He said defensively.

Donatello jumped up from his chair and ran to his fridge. He took out the vial of Katherine's blood and shakily pulled out a sample with a syringe. He put the blood into a machine of some sort and pushed the button. After a few minutes, a printer began printing out the results. Donatello grabbed the sheet from the printer and sat down with a thud.

"Katherine has tested positive for HCG." Donatello said with grim shock.

Michelangelo swallowed. "So that's bad…right?" He asked worriedly as he leaned forward.

"Human Chorionic Gonadotropin." Donatello informed him.

"What is that Donny? Is she...is she dying?" He asked his grim faced brother as he felt the blood slowly drain from his face.

"She's pregnant. Or at least she was when this blood sample was taken." Donatello replied grimly to his youngest brother.

Michelangelo slumped back in the chair. "Geezz Donny, you scared me half to death." He said with a shake of his head, one hand pressed against his plastron trying to calm his racing heart. "Wait, why are you looking so grim?" He asked. "She's pregnant, not dying, bro."

"It means she lied Mikey." Donatello said softly.

He looked at his brother in confusion. "About what? Kitten doesn't lie, ever."

"Well either she lied, or she simply didn't know." Donatello insisted.

"Well obviously she didn't know Donny, because..." Michelangelo began, but Donatello cut him off.

"Don't you get it Mikey? She either lied about one of the Purple Dragons forcing himself on her, or she didn't know it happened." He said softly leaning forward in his chair.

"But..." He stammered out, still confused.

"Mikey, we are reptiles, she is a mammal. It's absolutely impossible that Raph or Leo managed to get her pregnant." Donnie insisted.

Michelangelo felt his vision go slightly grey around the edges. He swallowed. "What do you mean at least she was?" He questioned and he tried to get the knot of hard lead to leave his stomach.

"She was blown up and has been in a coma for 3 months so far. She might even have had other injuries that I didn't know about. She could've even miscarried the night that Barry took her to the hospital. Maybe that is why Barry hasn't called us. I don't know Mikey." Donatello said with a confused shake of his head.

"How are you going to tell Raph and Leo?" He asked in a small, soft voice.

Donatello shook his head. "I will tell Kitten if I have to. Because as I said, either she lied because she was too ashamed to tell us, or she isn't lying and she didn't know that some bastard Purple Dragon got to her while she was unconscious." Donatello looked a little grey as he shook his head again, leaning forward in his chair. "As for Raph and Leo, they are already worried about her enough as it is. We don't need to stress them out further if we're not sure about the facts. But Mikey, this means you have to promise me that you won't tell them. We will cross that bridge if and when we come to it, okay?" Donatello prompted.

Michelangelo nodded numbly. "I promise." He whispered very softly.

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> limped slowly through the shadowy darkness that surrounded him. Using his crutches he managed to make his way past a skeletal tree, his lumbering and ungainly progress, making no noise as he approached the dark figure.

The figure looked to have been kneeling in front of the white marble angel for so long, that snow had begun to build up on his shoulders.

The dark figure was talking, but Leonardo was unable to understand the hushed words that were spoken. The kneeling figure turned his head, noticing that he was no longer alone in his sorrowful communications with the dead.

"What are you doing here Leo?" The figure hissed at him as he slowly stood. The rattle of metal against metal ringing out through the night. The figure's face finally caught in the moonlight revealing his face. Grief had carved deep lines around his eyes. He no longer wore his trademark red mask, his face looked naked without it.

"Raph..." Leonardo choked out.

"I told you twenty years ago that I never wanted to see you again and if I did I would kill you." Raphael growled, his body moving into an offensive stance.

"I deserve to be able to pay my respects Raph..." He managed to say before Raphael cut him off.

"Deserve? **Deserve!**" Raphael yelled harshly in disbelief. "Katherine deserved to live, and because of you she is dead. You deserved to be rotting in that box..." He said, pointing angrily at the grave. His voice choked up before he was able to continue. "Instead of her..." He managed to finish in a strained whisper, looking like his very soul had bee torn from him and shredded into pieces.

"I'm sorry Raph. I am so sorry." He said to his distraught brother.

"Sorry...? You are sorry?" Raphael asked in disbelief. "Sorry won't bring her back Leo!" Raphael yelled, his voice rising in grief-stricken anger.

"I know." He agreed softly. "If I could have traded my life for hers, I would have done it, in an instant."

Raphael remained silent, glaring at his brother hatred burning in his molten amber eyes.

"I just…I want a chance to tell her I am sorry. That's all." He pleaded with his brother.

"No." Raphael said firmly.

"Raph..." Leo begged his brother.

"You heard me Leo, I said, **NO**. She'll just forgive you. And I can't let her forgive you, because I can never forgive you for your failure." Raphael snarled, as the moon turned his brother's tears to silver diamonds as they slowly rolled down his emerald cheeks.

Without warning, Raphael was on him in an instant, the scrape of metal against metal scored through the silence of the night as Raphael covered the distance that separated them in a blink of an eye. Leonardo was caught off guard, both of them falling backwards onto the cold powdery ground. Leonardo had the wind knocked from him, his chest radiating pain from the savage blow, delivered from his brother who would no longer let him use that word to describe their relationship. Before Leonardo could recover Raphael's fist connected with his jaw, hard, making his teeth snap together painfully.

More scraping of metal echoed through the night as Leonardo tried to identify the sound as his world spun. He tried to block the next blow that landed on his left thigh of his ruined, useless leg.

The old injury burned with an intense white fire, as if it were still fresh. Leonardo hissed in pain and watched in grim horror as his brother raised his weapon above his head.

Raphael's sai flashed like liquid silver in the moonlight as it arced towards his chest. Leonardo closed his eyes against the fatal blow, but he never felt the cold steel pierce his heart.

"You aren't even worth killing." Raphael hissed into his ear as Leonardo felt a weight lifted from his chest.

Leonardo lay on the snow covered ground, opening his eyes to see his brother looking down at him, hatred burning in Raphael's amber eyes.

Leonardo reached out and caught some of the snowflakes that fell from the sky. The snowflakes were not cold and did not melt in his shaking palm, instead they turned to dust in his hands. He frowned in confusion.

"It doesn't snow here anymore Leo." Raphael said noticing his older brother's confusion. "It only rains down ash from the building that she died in. It's still burning, even after all these years.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> looked across the bed at his brother who was obviously within the grips of another nightmare. Leonardo was curled up on his left side, his injured leg carefully stretched out underneath him as he struggled against his sheets, twisting his body and moaning softly. Tears had begun to gently roll down his cheeks, his face a mask of misery.

"I'm sorry." Leonardo whispered as he reached down to clutch at his injured leg. His hands flinched when they touched the ragged scar that ran down his inner thigh.

Raphael reached forward instinctively, his hand gently brushing the lip of his brother's shell as he rubbed soothing circles on Leonardo's shell. Hard enough to be felt but light enough not to wake his sleeping brother.

Unfortunately Leonardo thrashed even more wildly as if he was suddenly being attacked. Raphael turned his head away and stood. He wished he could rouse his brother from his nightmares, but he couldn't. Whenever Leonardo saw him when he woke up from the grips of a nightmare, he only made his brother worse, more hysterical.

Raphael wiped wet tears from his own cheeks as he strode from the room intent on finding and confronting Donatello in hopes that they could figure out a way to convince Leonardo that Katherine was still alive. Raphael didn't know what her state of mind would be when she did emerge from her coma, but alive was good a start.

He also knew that Donatello had tried to reinforce his prognosis of Leonardo being able to fight again one day, but Leonardo didn't even seem to care. He still believed that Donatello was lying to him and that his leg would never heal or be able to fight again.

Raphael headed straight for Donatello's lab. His brother was busy typing away at the computer and frowning. His brother looked worried, which was not an unusual emotion, they were all worried.

"Donny, do something!" He pleaded with his younger brother, as if Donatello could magically flip a switch and Leonardo would suddenly be okay.

Donatello jumped slightly as if Raphael had startled his preoccupied brother. Donatello fumbled with his computer and powered it off. Donatello stood and walked around his computer desk heading for the door.

"Is he having another nightmare?" Donatello questioned.

"Yeah. He's cryin' and talkin' in his sleep and clutching his bad leg again." Raphael answered.

Donatello walked to the stairs and paused. He turned slowly and headed towards the kitchen instead. "I don't like waking him up from his nightmares." Donatello mumbled softly as he entered the kitchen. "He just gets defensive and combative if you try to talk to him. Actually Leo is acting a lot like you Raph." Donatello pointed out as Michelangelo stood up from the chair he had been lounging in at the kitchen table.

"Nightmare?" Michelangelo questioned with worry, avoiding Raphael's gaze almost as if he was feeling guilty about something.

Raphael nodded curtly and focused his attention on Donatello again. "What are we supposed to do Donny? Leo's not getting any better! In fact I think he's getting worse." Raphael growled his voice rising slightly in the hushed quiet of the lair's kitchen.

"I don't know Raph." Donatello answered with a sad shake of his head. "Leo's fallen into a deep depression. If there was a way to convince Leo that Kitten wasn't dead..."

"But that isn't the only problem Donny." Michelangelo cut in softly. "Leo doesn't think he's going to be able to fight again. He thinks we are lying to him about his recovery too."

"Of course he's depressed!" Raphael growled low in his throat, turning his attention to Donatello. "To Leo..." Raphael paused slightly as if he was having a hard time controlling his own frustration and worry. "Katherine's dead, it's his fault she died, and he ain't never gonna to be able to walk right again, let alone fight!" Raphael's voice had risen above the low voices they had been using.

"Raph, quiet." Donatello admonished.

"Sorry Donny," Raphael apologize and continued in a softer voice, "but that's what Leo believes, and I don't know how we can convince him that Kitten's still alive and that he is going to fight again as long as he works his leg and is patient while it heals."

Donatello sighed. "I am out of ideas Raph. The only thing I can do is keep working on Leo's leg and hope I can at least convince him that I am serious when I tell him that he will walk again and eventually, he will fight again." Donatello said as he rubbed his eyes wearily, walking despondently from the kitchen.

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> wiped his eyes and sat up. He wished that the nightmares would stop. He didn't need a constant reminder that Katherine had died, and that his leg was a ruined mess, or that deep down, Raphael truly hated him.

And yet, it had been a whole month and his brothers still insisted that Katherine was alive and that he would walk again. He rubbed his aching leg before he slid his legs off the bed. He was still so very weak. He still needed his brother's to help him get out of bed and go to the washroom. He looked over at the crutches that were propped against the end of his bed. Donatello had told him that he would be able to use them in about a month, as long as he kept up with his physiotherapy.

He silently contemplated the crutches.

_What if his brothers weren't lying to him? What if they were telling him the truth? _He wondered. Katherine was smart and resourceful, maybe she had figured out some way to remove the bomb from around her neck. And if his brothers were telling him the truth, then he just had to try harder to get better for his brothers and for Katherine.

He slid himself carefully to the end of his bed and reached a shaky hand out to clutch at the wooden crutch. He slid one crutch under his armpit. Using the crutch like a lever he shifted himself forward and put all of his weight on his good leg. After a few tries he was finally standing vertical by himself. His body was shaky, sweaty and weak with the effort, but he had done it, by himself. Leo gave himself a satisfactory smile before he reached out and placed the other crutch under his other arm and slowly hobbled from his room.

If he could make it to the bathroom and back, he figured that it would be a good start towards his recovery.

Leonardo stumbled a few times as he tried to get used to the crutches and pushed his shaking, weak body to go just that tiny bit further. Pain blazed up his leg as he strained to keep it off the ground. He rested against the wall just outside his room. He could hear soft voices coming from the direction of the kitchen. He pushed himself away from the cold bricks to be able to hear his brothers better.

He opened his mouth to yell for Donatello because he could feel his good leg begin to shake, as if it was going to collapse against the strain of carrying his body weight. But his mouth froze open as he heard Raphael's voice rise in anger as he shouted: "Katherine's dead, it's his fault she's dead, and he ain't never gonna to be able to walk right again, let alone fight!"

Leonardo felt his world tilt and blacken around the edges. He waited for Donatello to deny anything that Raphael had said, but instead of denial he heard Donatello's soft, calm voice hushing Raphael.

Leonardo could no longer hear what was being said. He could hear that his brothers were still talking, but he could no longer hear them over the blood that was rushing through his ears as he stumbled backwards.

He didn't know how he got back to his room. His world was too consumed with betrayal and anguish to pay attention to such an insignificant detail. He found himself sitting on the edge of his bed with a tantō blade clutched in his shaking hands. He had noticed that his brothers had taken away his swords and anything else that was sharp enough to cut skin, but he always kept a tantō blade hidden beneath his mattress. He never told his brothers about the concealed blade; one of the few secrets that he kept from his family.

Leonardo closed his eyes in desolate misery and grief, as tears streaming silently down his cheeks.

He took a deep steadying breath and released it slowly.

His brothers had been lying to him all along. Katherine really had been killed that night and Raphael blamed him for it. He felt the pain of betrayal rip through his heart like a blade as it twisted and, wrenched his chest wide open.

Donatello had actually lied to his face about his leg. He would never be able to walk on it right again, let alone be able to fight with it.

He knew he couldn't do it. He couldn't live with himself knowing that because of him Katherine was dead, Raphael despised him, and no doubt both Donatello and Michelangelo also blamed and hated him for her death as well.

He knew if it were this alone, somehow, he may be able to find some way to atone for Katherine's murder, but he would never even be able to atone for her death. Instead he was going to be a burden on his brothers for the rest of his life. Even if his brothers told him that he wasn't a burden, he couldn't take their looks of pity towards him, while in their heart they despised and hated him for his failure to protect the one woman that they all loved and who was also a member of their small family.

Master Splinter had left him in charge, had left him the responsibility of protecting their family, but he could no longer even do that. He was useless, less than useless. He was a burden who had betrayed the woman his brother loved, who he had loved, who had needed him to protect her, just once, and failed.

His hand convulsed on the wooden handle. A thought suddenly crossed his mind, a solution to his failure. His grip tightened further as he came to a fateful decision.

He clutched the tantō blade tightly in his shaking hand. He had told Michelangelo the truth after Katherine had stopped his fevered suicide attempt. He had told Michelangelo that he wasn't suicidal and he hadn't been, because his family needed him, now his family didn't. He was free to do the honorable thing.

It was so easy when he did it in his head. But now that it was time, he was scared. Tears slowly rolled down his face_. I can't do this_. He thought. He swallowed and steadied himself. He had to do it, to redeem himself for his failure.

He lightly pressed down with the tip of the tantō, and gazed in stunned wonder at the tiny droplet of blood that trickled down his hand. Determined now, he forced the blade deeper into his arm. Starting slightly below his elbow, he slowly pulled the blade down his right arm, stopping just shy of his wrist. Pain shot through his body as he cut through his flesh, forcing tears of agony to well-up in his eyes. The blood began to flow in a steady stream, carving a path of red down his green skin before pooling onto his blankets.

More tears trickled down his check as years of failures and memories of Katherine flashed before his eyes. Wave upon wave of grief flowed through him as guilt and shame racked his body. A sob shook his body, driving the tantō even deeper. Leonardo gasped as pain exploded up his arm and coursed through his body. His mind reeled with shock. Warily he peered down at the deep gash, trying to see through the thick veil of tears. _The cut was good start. _He thought as he switched hands and raised the tantō to his left arm. He shakily dug the blade into his arm making an identical cut down his left arm as well.

His body started to shake uncontrollably.

_When did it get so cold in here?_ He wondered.

Leonardo watched the blood pour from the cuts on his arms and felt strangely satisfied, but he had to make sure he finished it. The thought of having to wake-up to the horrible realization that he was still alive and crippled, while Katherine was dead, was more than he could bear.

Leonardo couldn't see clearly anymore. The world was starting spin around him, but he couldn't lose the battle with consciousness just yet, he still needed to finish it. Leonardo braced himself for the final cut, he felt adrenaline coursing through his veins causing the wounds in his arms to bleed faster. His hands were shaking so badly that he could barely maintain a decent grip on the handle as he raised the blade to drag it across his throat. As he laid the shaking blade against his throat, he closed his eyes. "Forgive me," he whispered as he pressed the tip of the blade into his throat, just below his right ear and dragged it downwards.

Leonardo could feel that the blade had only made a shallow cut into his neck. But before he could try again to make the cut deeper, the handle of tantō, slick with his own blood, fell from his numb hand.

Leonardo could only glare at the dagger where it had landed on his bedroom floor, as if the blade itself had somehow betrayed him. Suddenly dizzy, he collapsed on his bed, one arm dangling over the side. A wave of nausea gripped his stomach, causing him to gag as bile rose up his throat. Grimacing, he held his breath and waited for the sickening feeling to pass. Several agonizing seconds elapsed before the queasiness subsided enough for him to breathe safely again. His head pressed deeply into his pillow, as he greedily sucked in mouthfuls of air, desperately trying to keep the room from wildly spinning around him.

Leonardo shivered violently. He could sense a dark, formless shadow closing in on him; whether it was someone or something, he wasn't sure. He hoped it wasn't one of his brothers, though, Mikey especially. He didn't want his youngest brother to watch him die like this.

_Should have locked the bedroom door. _He thought numbly to himself.

Wearily he struggled to push himself up. He only managed to half sit up before his strength completely deserted him. With a grunt of exhaustion he collapsed back onto his side, smacking his head on the head board on the way down. He watched as a small crimson pool of blood began slowly creeping its way across his floor.

The cuts didn't hurt for some reason, though. Strangely enough, none of it did…anymore a strange numbness coming over his body. But he had to make sure he finished it, one way or the other. Leonardo struggled to sit up, but his tired body refused to respond.

_I guess it doesn't matter now. _He thought to himself.

"I don't know if Katherine would actually forgive me Raph, but maybe one day, I hope you will be able to." Leonardo muttered letting tears roll down his cheek. "I'm sorry I failed you all, I love all of you." He whispered, his breathing was labored from the effort of speaking. Giving up the fight to stay awake any longer, he stopped struggling and allowed himself to be drawn back into the endless ocean of darkness that called to him.

His breathing slowed as he slowly drifted away,his eyes sliding closed. Leonardo vaguely heard footsteps enter his bedroom and felt rough, calloused hands grab at him, raising him up slightly.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to the brother whose face he was unable to see. "Forgive me." He managed to whisped as he was dragged down into the dark.

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts and opinions are always welcome=)<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello all, so chapter 16! Wondering how Katherine got out of the collar? well now you get to find out!=)**

**As always a big huge thank you to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter and for writing a big chunk of the Raph Leo scene.**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers, chibiwolf33, Rocky181, mela989898, Kaaayyytteee and hellgirl-fan1 and Lost Blonde.**

**A/N just a warning, in this next chapter Raph drops the F-bomb more than a few times. sensitive people I apologize, but I think it was warranted.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 16<span>

**Katherine** opened her eyes and looked around the room she was in. There was something running through her nose and down her throat and the sensation was extremely unpleasant.

She had pretended to be sleeping while there were people in the room because she didn't know where she was or what had happened or how she had gotten to wherever she was. She suspected she was in a hospital, judging by the sounds, smells and the nurses that periodically checked the monitors and then left, but there was a paranoid part of her that wasn't quite convinced about her surroundings.

Her last memories before she woke up in the hospital bed came back to her in flashes. She remembered the bomb and the explosion. She remembered that she had been caught up in the blast of the collar.

She hadn't been sure that she would be able to remove the collar, and so had made no promises to Leonardo that she couldn't keep. She had told Leonardo that he would live. That was the only thing she knew for certain.

She did however know that the collar could come off, because Mr. White had said it could. She had searched the collar for clasps or a button of some sort when she had initially put her hand to her throat to pull it off, when Mr. White had first told her she had to kill Leonardo. She had found something, but had been unable to test her theory when Mr. White had held the gun to the little girl's head.

Katherine had then ripped herself apart knowing she would have to kill Leonardo, allowing that darkness to consume her, but at the last minute she remembered something very important. She remembered that without hope there was nothing and that sometimes you made your own luck. And so she had shot Leonardo in the neck and he had played his part beautifully. He really thought that he was dying. He closed his eyes and slumped forward as if he were dead. She had then reached for her collar looking Mr. White straight in the eye with her dead emotionless eyes. Mr. White had taken the little girl and ran after looking into them.

Katherine had then turned her attention back to Leonardo. She had felt her heart race with panic thinking that she had accidentally nicked his artery, when he had hung from the wall still as death. But after she had run to him and checked him thoroughly over, she was relieved to find that she hadn't gone much deeper than the surface of his thick, leathery skin.

She had then undone only one arm so that he would be unable to follow her right away, in case she was unable to get the collar off. She hadn't wanted him to be injured or killed in the resulting blast. She had kissed him lightly and told him he would live and then she had run from the room. She ran for ten seconds and then placing her fingers on each of the four small raised pieces of metal right at the front of the collar, she had pressed down unhitching the clasp, the collar opened and fell undetonated from her neck. She ran for another ten seconds counting 10 Mississippi's and had thrown the collar as fast and as hard as she could before running back to the room where she had left Leonardo. She had let out a yelp of a scream as she tripped over a piece of debris. She got to her feet again but she hadn't made it before the bomb had gone off. Her world had gone black as intense heat and sound robbed her world of anything else.

And then she had woken up - whenever that was. She had cautiously opened her eyes and had taken stock of her surroundings. The last thing she had needed was to have been put in some lab by The Face, though that seemed a little far-fetched, even for her own paranoid mind. She had then enacted a scene straight out of Kill Bill. She had thought that she was paralyzed at first, not being able to move any part of her body. But she could still feel so she had decided that instead of lying in the bed and yelling at her toe to move she would go back to sleep for a bit and try again later. When she woke up she found that her legs and arms worked, but she would no doubt be incredibly weak, and have a hard time moving around for the next few days. So she had played possum for the rest of the day and tried to learn as much as she could from anyone who came into her room without letting them know that she was awake and aware of them.

The next day she woke to find the biggest black man she had ever seen sitting next to her bed. She didn't recognize him, but he wore a lab coat as if he was a doctor or a technician.

She studied him. He was tall, handsome and built like a tank. And not a flabby tank either, a tank that hit the gym regularity; a tank that probably came with a six pack and she wasn't talking about the alcohol.

His hair was black and cut short against his scalp. His skin was the colour of dark coffee with a dash of cream. His eyes were black, his jaw square and his lips full. He looked to be in his early thirties and the type of man that smiled a lot.

As she studied him his phone rang.

"Hey." He said answering the phone.

She couldn't hear what the person on the other end said, but he suddenly stood and began looking her over. She closed her eyes.

"No change. Coma doctor will be back in tomorrow to do another Glasgow test on her to reassess her status."

He was silent for a moment. "Okay just give me a sec." She heard him fumble for something by her bed. "Okay go." She heard the scrape of a pen against paper. She felt him straighten. "You want me to what?" He asked in surprise. "Okay Barry I have been quiet and I haven't pried into who this girl is or why everything has to be so hush-hush, but Italy! You are giving her an address in Italy?" He paused a moment. "What do you mean you bought a house? Your family already owns a house in Italy! Oh sorry, this one is in Tuscany, pardon. Barry, have you been eating out of the crazy bowl for the last month, hell, it's been over three months! Ever since this girl has been here you have been acting nuts!"

Katherine digested the fact that she had been in a coma for over three months and put it aside for examination later. She listened to the conversation intently.

"No, of course I put it with the rest of the stuff in the bag. And of course I looked. You have given this chick everything she needs to be able to disappear. So you going disappear with her?" He asked.

"You don't know? Well that's just great." He grumbled. "Yeah, I'll pick you up at the airport. 18:00 hours, got it." He hung up the phone.

Katherine could feel him studying her.

"I don't get it." He grumbled. "You have turned one of the most rational, logical, unspontaneous men I have ever known, completely on his ear. So who are you really?" He mused out loud. "You must have been one hell of a lay." He said as he grabbed something from the chair, probably his coat and left the room.

As soon as the door closed she sat up. She had to get out of here before the doctor showed up tomorrow and before the evening, since she knew the hospital would be more crowded during the day and it would be easier to slip out.

She moved one arm and then the other. She wiggled her toes and nodded to herself. She pulled the tape from her nose and pulled the tube from her nostril. She tried not to gag at the sensation. She knew she would have to pull the plug on the heart monitor and IV drip before she pulled the IV out and took the heart monitor off her finger. The last thing she would need is for the monitor to start going off and a nurse to come in. She knew it was stupid to just run away, but someone had tried, and come very close, to killing her. At the moment she didn't want anyone knowing where she was. Besides, she didn't want to be lying in the hospital any longer; she had things she had to do.

Once she had managed to unhook and pull out everything that she was attached to she managed to shakily stumble over to the closet that the man had left the note in.

She found a black duffel bag shoved in the back under a white winter coat, hat and gloves.

She sat on the floor and shakily opened the duffel bag. There were clothes, money, an American passport with an alias and the address for a house in Italy as well as instructions on how to get there once she left Rome's airport.

She felt a little stunned because Barry was obviously Barry Milton. But she didn't understand how he had gotten involved. Not that it mattered at the moment, right now all that mattered was that she got out of the hospital. She quickly changed into the clothes that were in the duffel bag. She frowned at the sizes, because although they were correct everything seemed a little tight. "Only I could lie in a hospital bed for over three months and get fat." She grumbled as she pulled the shirt over her head and went to flip her hair out, only there was no hair to flip out of her shirt. She reached up and noticed that her hair was now chin length at most.

She grabbed her coat and zipped it up pulling the white toque over her head and pulling the dark sunglasses over her eyes. She hoisted the duffel bag over her shoulder and walked unsteadily to the door.

Just the walk to the door proved to be exhausting. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She looked up and down the deserted hallway and unsteadily made her way down the corridor.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> frowned as he heard a noise from Leonardo's bedroom. He couldn't quite tell what it was about the noise that bothered him, but he slowly walked and then ran from the kitchen.

Raphael charged into his brother's room, and all he could see was crimson everywhere.

"Leo! What the hell did you do!" Raphael yelled, his voice sounding harsh to his ears, as if the sound were being ripped from his throat.

Raphael rushed to his older brother's bedside. "Leo! Leo, open your eyes… God damn it!" He yelled in horror when his brother didn't move. "Donny, get in here!" Raphael shouted in anguish.

He reached over, and carefully lifted Leonardo out of the bloody mire of his bed, before gently laying him on the floor.

Leonardo's eyes cracked open as he was laid on the cold floor. With a tired sigh Leonardo looked up at him and faintly whispered. "I'm sorry Raph. I'm sorry. It's okay. You don't…don't have to lie to me anymore. It's all right, Raph," Leonardo told him as he shakily reached out a blood drenched hand, placing it gently on his forearm. "My…My honour demanded that I pay for my failure and I refuse to be…a…a burden. It…it doesn't even hurt anymore, nothing does." Leonardo gasped out, faintly smiling up at him.

"Don't you dare say that!" Raphael roared, as he thought desperately on how to stop the bleeding.

"Just…one day…try to forgive me." Leonardo whispered as he lost his grip on Raphael's forearm, Leonardo's hand slowly sliding to the floor where it lay unmoving.

"FORGIVE YOU! I won't forgive you, you understand that Leo! I will _never_ forgive you if you fucking die on me!" He shouted as he looked over his brother's injuries.

The cut on Leonardo's neck was bleeding, but he didn't know how deep it was. Leonardo moaned in pain as Raphael wrapped one hand tightly around each of Leonardo's forearms trying to slow the massive bleeding. But that still left the neck wound free to slowly ooze bright crimson blood.

There was so much blood that he didn't know which wounds were worse. He needed help and fast.

"Donny! Mikey!" Raphael roared desperately at the top of his lungs. _Where the hell is everyone! _He wondered frantically.

Craning his neck, he scanned the half open doorway, hoping to see someone come running through it any second, but the doorway remained empty. Still holding tightly onto both of Leonardo's arm's, he listened intently for any movement in the lair—but all he could hear was the thunderous roar of his own frantic heartbeat pounding away in his chest.

"Donny!" He yelled again as he looked back at Leonardo's face which was lax and unresponsive, his eyes slightly closed.

"Leo!" He shouted in horror. "Don't you dare go to sleep on me." Raphael pleaded desperately giving his brother a slight shake.

"Do you really think she'll forgive me?" Leonardo managed to whisper, his voice coming out more as an exhalation of breath than actual talking as his eyes partially opened.

"There's nothing to forgive! You hear me Leo!" Raphael yelled his voice breaking at the thought of losing his brother yet again filled his mind with terror.

"I love you Raph, and I…I am so-sorry." Leonardo stammered as his eyes slid completely closed, his body going limp.

"You're right you are going to be sorry." He growled, his voice catching in his throat. "Because when you get all better I am going to kick your ass for what you've put us through." He promised. "Now open your eyes damn it!" He ordered shaking his brother even harder, but Leonardo was completely unresponsive.

"**NO!" **He screamed in anguish. "Donny! Mikey! Where the hell are you?"

No answer.

He looked down again, then quickly away, overwhelmed by the nightmarish scene before him. He felt helpless to stop the seemingly endless flow of blood gushing between his fingers. Fighting back tears, he pressed down harder.

"Leo, can you hear me? Everything's going to be okay, alright? Just...

His words were cut off abruptly as Leo's body suddenly went rigid. Raphael watched as Leonardo's eyes opened before rolling completely back into his head. Leonardo began to violently shake, his muscles tensing and contracting involuntarily before he went limp once again.

Raphael looked at Leonardo in horror. He couldn't tell if Leo was even breathing. "Leo! Leo, don't you fucking dare do this to me!" Raph snarled. _Shit, I can't do this alone! _He thought in panic.

Raphael laid his head on Leonardo's plastron, hoping to hear a heartbeat. It was faint, but still audible, beating ever so softly. Raphael sighed inwardly, grateful for this much.

He turned his attention back to the horrendous wounds, peering between his clenched fingers still wrapped tightly around his brother's arm's. The cuts on his arms were the deepest. He was practically swimming in blood, but he didn't know what else to do.

Desperate, Raphael pressed down with all his strength turning the dark jade skin pale from the pressure he was exerting. But still the blood surged forward unabated. Frantic now, he forced all his weight onto his brother's arms. "It's not stopping, oh God, it's not stopping!" Raphael moaned in terror.

He felt panic edging closer—bubbling just below the surface, waiting to erupt.

"Why Leo?" Raphael asked his eldest brother "After everything we went through to keep you alive for so long, how could you do this to us…to Katherine?" He knew he was starting to lose it, but he had to keep his temper and his anxiety in check, his brother's life depended on him keeping a cool, calm head right now.

"I refuse to let you die, you hear me Leo?" He hissed. "I refuse to have to be the one who tells Katherine how your sorry fucking ass died. I refuse to be the one that has to tell her that you gave up on life and that you didn't believe us that she was still alive!" He shook his brother again. "Happy fucking birthday to me. You just had to be a selfish prick and go and pull this shit 7 days before my birthday, and not that I really care about that sort of thing, but do you know how happy I was that you actually made it to yours you selfish bastard?"

He knew he had to get a hold of himself—and now, before he lost it completely. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to slow down, shoving his fears aside, willing his frenzied mind to push beyond his swirling emotions inside him.

_Okay, think, what would Donny do? What? What? A... tourniquet!_

"Raph?"

Startled, he looked up to find a worried Michelangelo peeking around the doorway.

"What's going…" Mikey asked confused.

"Mikey go get Donny, now!" Raph ordered.

"Raph?" Michelangelo asked, pushing the door open further.

Raphael immediately tried to shield Leonardo's bloody body with his own, but it was too late. Michelangelo stopped dead in his tracks, the color draining from his face as he took in the gruesome scene before him.

"Leo!" Michelangelo's voice was full of horror as he took an uncertain step towards his bloody, motionless brother.

"Get Donny, now!" Raph snapped. "Please!" He begged in a softer voice.

Michelangelo hesitated, torn between staying with him and Leonardo and trying to find Donatello.

"**Mikey!**" Raph bellowed.

Michelangelo, snapped from his indecision, bolted from the room, yelling for Donatello at the top of his lungs.

Raphael turned his attention back to Leonardo.

_Okay, okay…need a tourniquet._

He reluctantly let go of one arm to feel blindly along the ground for anything that might suffice for a tourniquet. His hand brushed against something sharp and metallic. He looked down, his eyes falling on the bloody tantō.

He froze. His world felt as if it suddenly stopped.

_What the…? How the hell did Leonardo get a hold of a tantō? _He wondered in cold horror.

"Don't leave me. Don't you dare leave us!" He pleaded angrily. "You hear me, Leo?" Raphael sobbed, collapsing onto his brother's motionless body.

It felt as if time had stopped, as if he was entombed within this moment of suspended eternity between each of his brother's weakening heartbeats. He felt helpless, like a rag doll caught in a riptide of insanity. He stared unseeing through half-closed lids as a hot tear made its way slowly down his cheek. It paused at the edge of his jaw, as if hesitant about making the fatal plunge; but then, without warning, it fell, landing on Leonardo's chest as it continued its slow trek, tracing the deep grooves of his plastron, until finally disappearing into the congealing blood that coated Leonardo's body.

"Damn you," Raphael cried weakly. "How could you do this to us… to Katherine?" He repeated over and over again as he lay his head down on his brother's chest.

Fear, anger and guilt, ripped and clawed at his soul, squeezing and wrenching his heart into a steel vice. A black void suddenly opened up from deep within, gurgling up from some dark and decayed wellspring of the soul's abyss, offering the gift of detachment for the price of his sanity.

_**NO! **_He struggled in its grasp, desperate to break free before his own mind ripped itself apart.

Raphael let out an animalistic growl, pulling Leonardo partially onto his lap.

"I won't let you go…I won't let you go… do you hear me?"

Michelangelo suddenly pounded into the room: "I can't find him!" His brother said in desperate horror.

Raphael's heart fell into his stomach like a hot ball of lead. "Where the **hell** did he go?"

"I don't know," Michelangelo said miserably. "Supply run? Junkyard?" He said shaking his head.

Paralyzed with fear, Raphael could only sit there gaping stupidly up at his brother as he continued to stammer out where Donatello could be.

"Mikey, shut up!" Raph barked harshly. "I need your help if where going to save him."

"What do we do?" Michelangelo whispered, tears streaming from his eyes.

_I don't know what the fuck I'm doing! I'm no medic, I can't save him. I can't do anything! Leonardo's laying here bleeding... dying…and I don't know what the hell to do and Donatello's not here. What do I do? What do I do?_ His thoughts screamed, tearing through his mind as he looked at Michelangelo helplessly. "I…" He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and released it slowly.

He opened his eyes. "Mikey I need you to put pressure on Leo's neck wound and try to get hold of Donny with your cell. Until Donny gets here we'll just have to do best we can, without him," Raphael said softly, more to himself than to Michelangelo. "First we need to find something for tourniquets..."

He eyed the sheets lying scattered across the mattress.

"Mikey, go over there and rip up the sheets, we need to stop the bleeding."

Turning back to Leonardo, he once again put his head on his brother's chest, trying to locate a heartbeat. Not hearing any movement from Michelangelo, he looked up only to find Michelangelo still standing in the doorway, numb with fear, his arms wrapped tightly around his chest as if to ward off some invisible chill. Trembling slightly, he stared vacantly at the floor, hypnotized by the growing puddle of blood on the floor.

"Mikey…snap out of it, damn it, I can't do this alone!" Raphael growled.

Michelangelo's head slowly rose to look Raphael in the eyes; his face was a mixture of uncomprehending horror and sorrow, his eyes distant and glassy.

"Mikey I need you!" Raphael said angrily, looking into his brother's vacant gaze. "I can't do this without you!"

Michelangelo merely blinked owlishly in response.

"Mikey, please, Leo needs you." Raphael pleaded to his brother, but feared Michelangelo was beyond his reach; drugged into uselessness by grief and anguish.

Michelangelo's eyes finally fluttered and slowly came into focus again, as if awakening from a deep trance. "Okay," Michelangelo nodded. With one last look behind him, he lurched over to the mattress and started pulling off the sheets.

Raphael bent down close to Leonardo's ear; "Just hang in there. You're going to be just fine. Just…"

"Here." Mikey interrupted, handing him several scraps of cloth, using the rest Michelangelo pressed it tightly against the clean cut on Leonardo's neck. With his other hand he picked up his cell and dialed Donatello's number, putting his cell on speaker so Raphael could listen as well.

After a few seconds Donatello picked up. "Hey Mikey…" Donatello began, but was quickly cut off by Michelangelo.

"Donny where are you? How fast can you get back to the lair?" Michelangelo asked in a rush.

"I just left to do a supply run. I'm about 5 minutes from the lair… Why, what's wrong?" Donatello asked his voice full of concern, responding to the fear in Michelangelo's voice.

"It's Leo… there's blood… he's dying…" Michelangelo choked out hysterically.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Donatello said hurriedly.

Michelangelo nodded numbly as he shut the shell cell.

Raphael looked at his brother. "Okay, when I'm done tying this," Raphael instructed, cinching the bandage around Leonardo's arm's tighter. "I want you to keep putting pressure on his neck, just until I can get a bandage in place."

"O-okay…." Mike replied hesitantly, his pale face etched with uncertainty.

"You can do this Mikey." Raphael soothed. "You're doing just fine bro."

Raphael focused on Leonardo again. He had been searching for a heartbeat before he noticed Michelangelo had not been moving to help him. Raphael lightly placed his fingers against the vein on the left side of his brother's neck, searching for a heartbeat and found nothing.

_Oh please no._

"Raph, there's so much…" Michelangelo began.

"Yeah, I know, Mikey," he replied curtly.

"Wh…"

"Shhh, I'm trying to get a pulse." He said as he placed his ear against Leonardo's chest.

Raphael swallowed down his panicked horror_**.**_ "I can't hear a heartbeat."

"What?" Michelangelo's head snapped up to stare at him in horror and disbelief.

Raphael listened as Leo's breathing slowed down, a light breath escaped his brothers lips, and then everything just...went still.

"I…I can't find a heartbeat!" Raphael shouted. "He doesn't even look like he's breathing!"

"No." Michelangelo stared back at him, wide-eyed in shock. He shook his head vehemently back and forth. "No, no, no, this isn't happening."

Raphael carefully straddled Leonardo's chest. Luckily Leonardo's ribs had mostly healed. Placing one hand on top of the other, he started pumping up and down carefully on his brother's plastron in short, strong bursts.

_One, two, three…_

"Mikey, you need to breathe for him. Do it, just like Donny showed us, but wait until I tell you."

Michelangelo, looking dazed again, merely sat there, his mind lost in a reverie of shock and despair. "Raph, you can't let him die."

"Mikey, just do as I say and he won't!" Michelangelo flinched at the anger in his voice, but it woke him from his stupor. Michelangelo pried Leonardo's mouth open then lowered his head to breathe into Leonardo when Raphael told him to.

_One, two, three…_

"Breathe, Mikey."

Michelangelo pressed his lips against Leonardo's and, blew vital air into his brother's lungs.

_One, two, three…_

"Breathe."

_One, two, three…_

"Breathe."

Raphael glanced down at the cloth bandages. Blood was still seeping through them.

Michelangelo looked up forlornly, tears spilling from his eyes: "He's still not breathing."

"Just keep going, Mikey. One, two, three, breathe." Raphael pushed down harder, trying to ignore the ominous feeling of dread creeping over him. "One, two, three, breathe!"

Seconds passed.

"One, two, three, breathe!"

"I don't think…"

"Shut-up, Mikey!. Keep going. **ONE, TWO, THREE, BREATHE!"**

"Raph..." Michelangelo sobbed, pulling reluctantly away.

"What the hell are you doing? I told you not to stop!"

Michelangelo sat back on his knees, burying his head in his hands. "He's gone Raph! Don't you get it? Leo…is…dead!" Michelangelo choked out.

"No," Raphael whispered in denial. "He's not." He crouched down next to Leo's head. "You listen to me!" He growled. "You can't fucking do this to us!" Furious, Raphael smashed his fists onto Leonardo's chest. "You…can't…fucking—"

"Raph, stop it!" Michelangelo screamed, grabbing at his hands.

Raphael shoved him away and raised his hand to slap Leonardo across the face.

"How dare you…" His palm connected with his brother's cheek. "You conceited…" He hit him again. "Selfish…" His open palm hit his brother's cheek again. "Fucking bastard!" He shouted as tears of anguish streamed down his cheeks.

"Stop it!" Michelangelo made a desperate lunge for him, but Raphael saw it coming and shoved Michelangelo backward, hard, knocking him onto his shell. "Raph," he choked hoarsely, "he's gone."

"No, he's not," Raphael hissed in defiant denial. But the fresh tears spilling down his face told a different story.

Michelangelo, dragged himself up off the floor. Softly crying he put his arms around Raphael's shoulders in a comforting hug. " Raph..."

Ignoring him, Raphael gently pulled out of the embrace. Wiping absently at the blood staining his hands, he gently lifted Leonardo's head into his lap. Cradling the motionless body that lay on his legs, he slowly began to rock back and forth.

"Please don't go... please don't... please..." Raph whispered huskily, as felt his brother's life slip through his fingers. Raphael gently kissed his brothers forehead before he laid his head down on it. Sobbing quietly to himself, hot tears rolled down his cheeks and fell from his jaw, landing onto his motionless brothers cold cheeks.

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><p><strong>Leooooooo!<strong>

**I know cliffhanger. Blame Amoraphoenix.,she is evil and suggested leaving it as a cliffhanger.;)**

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome!**


	17. Chapter 17

**For those of you waiting to be able to breathe again and for your hearts to stop hammering in your chests, chapter 17 is here!**

**As always a big giant thank you to Amoraphoenix for beta reading this chapter for me and for giving me great ideas, suggestions and support! Thank You, thank you!**

**And to my reviewers Lost Blonde, chibiworlf33, mela989898, moonie016, Kaaayyytteee, Radioactive-Pingu and dondena for being awesome and giving me lots of support and ecouragement as well.**

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><p><span>Chapter 17<span>

**Raphael's** head snapped up when he heard the thump of hurried feet on concrete as Donatello ran into the room.

"Sit him up further!" Donatello barked. "And get his arms above his heart."

Raphael hauled Leonardo further upright, pulling Leonardo's arms straight out in front if his brother's body halfway to his chin.

"Donny! What the hell are you doing?" Raphael yelled as Donatello moved in and took hold of one of Leonardo's arms, removing the tourniquet as he lowered it into his lap.

"He's going to bleed out in minutes if I don't get him stitched up. Mikey grab my medical bag, the really big one. Raph keep holding his arms up just like you are doing." Donatello said calmly. "He just had to know the right way to slit his wrists." Donatello grumbled as he examined the deep gash.

Raphael watched Donatello try to save his eldest brother's life, only... "Donny, Leo… he doesn't have a pulse and he's not breathing… it's already too late." Raphael choked out.

Michelangelo ran in with Donatello's bag.

Donatello's eyes widened and grabbed a stethoscope out of his bag. He grimly listened to Leonardo's chest for a few precious seconds. Then Donatello carefully opened Leonardo's eyes, shinning a pen light into each one and muttering under his breath. Donatello's looked at Raphael and Michelangelo and smiled a slight, but relieved smile.

"Donny?" Raphael asked softly, hot tears stinging his eyes again.

"He's okay Raph, but he is in an advanced state of shock, so his breathing and heart rate are very faint and hard to detect." He said as he began digging around in his bag again and finally pulling out a huge steel gauge needle. Raphael felt himself pale as he watched in horror as Donatello plunged the needle straight through Leonardo's plastron and into his brother's heart, injecting the needle's contents in one swift, smooth motion.

"Donny, what did you just do?" Raphael asked in a hoarse whisper.

"I injected him with pure adrenaline. His heart rate was too low." Donatello replied in a slightly shaking voice as he carefully removed the needle.

They all watched as Leonardo's faint breaths strengthened into shallow, panting gasps, and Raphael hadn't ever heard anything so beautiful in his life.

Raphael closed his eyes in relief and felt his world spin. He had thought that Leonardo had just died in his arms, but his brother was alive and Donatello was here to make sure he stayed that way.

"Raph, take some gauze and apply pressure to Leo's neck." Donatello said as he took one of Leonardo's arms from him, snapping him out of his thoughts. "It looks to be the least of my worries right now. Mikey I need you to go around and grab lots of blankets and put half of them in my lab, the other half bring in here. We need to keep him very warm until the shock has worn off and his blood pressure is within normal range. We'll move Leo to my lab once I get him stitched up and stabilized." Donatello said as he took in the bloody ruined, mess of Leonardo's bed. Donatello calmly but swiftly began the process of stitching each layer of the wound together before finally stitching Leonardo's skin closed.

Each arm was finally tightly bandaged and Donatello let out a small sigh of relief. "Leo was lucky. He didn't manage to hit any major blood vessels or his tendons." Donatello said softly. He then carefully peeled back the bandage on Leonardo's neck.

Raphael's fearful gaze flew to Donatello's face. "Don't worry, the wound has clotted and it isn't very deep. It looks far worse than it really is," Donatello bent closer to examine the gash. "He's lucky, he didn't hit any major blood vessels here either, but...he did manage to sever part of his sternocleido-mastiod."

"What the hell is that?" Raphael growled worriedly that it was something life threatening.

"It's a muscle in his neck. It covers the carotid artery and jugular vein. The muscle will heal in about two to three weeks, but he will have a hard time rotating his neck for a while." Donatello said as he completely removed the gauze and began to stitch up Leonardo's neck. "He'll need a few blood transfusions though. He lost quite a bit of blood." Donatello said grimly.

Raphael paled and looked at Leonardo. _If Leo had cut just a little bit deeper..._ Raphael shuddered at the thought of how close to death his big brother had come. The white, red speckled bandages on Leonardo's arms stood out starkly against his green skin. They moved him into Donatello's lab and lay him on a cot in a nest of blankets before they piled more on top of him. Donatello hooked up the IV and started the blood transfusion as soon as he could. Once he had finished and checked that the blood was flowing, he began setting up a couple more pieces of equipment to monitor Leonardo's vital signs and placed him on oxygen again.

"Is he going to be okay?" Michelangelo's soft voice asked.

"I won't know until he wakes up Mikey." Donatello replied gently.

It was several hours later before Leonardo was awake, but he remained unresponsive. His eyes were open, but he was staring at nothing, and wouldn't meet their eyes. When asked a question he only repeated back what they had asked him or said nothing at all.

"Come on Donny, we got to him in time...So what's wrong with him?" Raph asked desperately as he looked down at Leonardo who was buried beneath a pile of blankets on the cot.

Donatello slumped into the chair that was sitting beside Leonardo's bed. "He's completely catatonic. The only thing that will snap him out of it would be a mental shock of some sort, and we have already tried just about everything." Donatello said numbly.

"Why'd he do it?" Michelangelo's soft, shaky voice asked from below him.

Raphael looked down at Michelangelo who was curled up beside Donatello's chair, tears streaming down his face in sorrow and disbelief. "W...was the p-pain of losing K-Katherine so much that he c-couldn't live, e-even for us?" Michelangelo's question was choked out between sobs. "Raph, if Katherine had really died, would you...?" Michelangelo couldn't finish the horrifying question and so asked two different ones. "Would you blame Leo? W-would you…h-hate him?" The last was asked in a choked whisper.

Raphael looked into his brother's light brown eyes and crouched down so he could look at Michelangelo straight in his eyes.

Raphael put a comforting hand on Michelangelo's shoulder. "Mikey, if Kitten didn't make it, if she had died that night…" Raphael paused and swallowed because she could have died that night and he still didn't know how she hadn't, or how she even was at this moment. "I would be devastated. I don't know if I would ever be the same, but I would never take my own life and I would never blame Leo. **Ever**. I know he would have done everything he could to save her and I could never hate him for it. He's my brother and I'll always love him...no matter what."

Michelangelo nodded as Raphael pulled his baby brother into a hug. "But Leo ain't me Mikey." Raphael said softly into his ear, but Michelangelo was already gently pulling out of his brother's embrace a thoughtful frown on his face.

Michelangelo stood up and ran from Donatello's lab. Raphael looked at the doorway in confusion as Michelangelo ran back into the room a few moments later holding a pair of crutches in his hands. "I just remembered that I had noticed this crutch half under the bed and this one was close to his door." Michelangelo said softly, almost as if he was talking to himself.

"So they got knocked over during the chaos." Raphael said with a frown.

Michelangelo shook his head. "I think Leo was using these." He said in shock.

"Okay, so what?" Raphael asked with restrained irritation. His nerves and emotions were too raw to play twenty questions with Michelangelo.

"I put these at the end of his bed as motivation, that in two weeks he would be able to use them to get around on his own." Michelangelo paused in thought for a moment before continuing. "But what if Leo decided he was going to try right now to use the crutches."

"So what, you think he tried and failed and he got upset?" Raphael asked, shooting a worried look towards Leonardo's unresponsive face, before turning his attention back to his baby brother.

Donatello suddenly stood; his face having gone extremely pale. "If Leo managed to hobble out of this room and overheard us talking in the kitchen..."

"So what, we were just talking about how he was bein' an idiot, we weren't..." Donatello cut him off.

"Raph, when you were talking." Donatello clarified to him quietly.

"I said that he wasn't getting any better and that he might be getting worse and Mikey said that Leo was worried about not being able to fight again and then I said that Leo thinks that..." Raphael stopped as both Michelangelo and Donatello looked at him grimly.

Michelangelo licked his lips and began talking. "If Leo only heard the part you yelled and he didn't hear the beginning, he would have heard you say that Katherine was dead, that it was his fault she was dead, and that he was never going to walk or fight again." Michelangelo whispered in agonized dismay.

Michelangelo pulled a crumpled up piece of paper from his pocket. "I...I also found this." He said softly as he reluctantly handed a folded, blood spattered and tear stained note to Raphael.

Raphael opened the note and looked at his brother's hastily scrawled words. The letters were shaky and hurried, so unlike his brother's usual careful and precise writing. Raphael closed his eyes as pain and grief flowed through him. The note slowly slipping through his fingers to the ground. He opened his eyes as his gaze slowly slid to Leonardo's blank face.

Raphael stood on shaky legs as he managed to stumble over to Leonardo's bed and collapsed to his knees, leaning over his brother's still form. Raphael bent over and pressed a soft kiss on Leonardo's forehead before gathering Leonardo gently into his arms, hugging him tightly to his plastron. "I am sorry Leo. I am so, so, sorry." He said in a broken voice as he pressed his face into the curve of Leonardo's neck. Choking sobs wracked his body, shaking him to his very core as tears spilled down his cheeks as he gently rocked his brother back and forth.

"Sorry. So, so sorry." Leonardo repeated quietly, his voice fogging up the oxygen mask as he gazed vacantly at the ceiling.

* * *

><p><strong>Barry<strong> pulled out of Deon's giant bear hug that included lots of hand shaking, back clapping and generally lifting him off the ground. "Okay Deon." He said with a smile stepping back.

"Just glad you are back." The bigger man said with a wide, white toothed grin.

"Soooo, now that you are back," Deon began as he placed an arm around his shoulder. "Are you going to tell me about this girl?" His friend asked pryingly.

Barry smiled, but he knew that the smile did not reach his eyes. He opened his mouth to respond but Deon's cell phone began to ring.

Deon grabbed his cell from his belt and spoke a quick hello. His grin disappeared as he looked at Barry speculatively. "I'm sorry. The transfer papers must have been misplaced. She was transferred this morning. I will get Dr. Conami to fax a new form in." Deon said in a strained voice covering up his phone and looking at Barry grimly. "She's gone." He hissed as he turned his attention back to the phone. "Yes, thank you." He said as he hung up the phone.

Barry swallowed and he felt his heart begin to beat a little faster in apprehension. He tried to calm his heartbeat down because he knew it was possible that when she woke up she would run. It was also possible that either her enemies found her, or her ex-boyfriends did. Though he would bet on her just getting up and walking away, because it was what he would do. He had given her everything she needed to disappear. He wasn't sure if she would meet him in Italy, but he hoped that she would.

"Call Dr. Conami and tell him his services are no longer required." He began.

"Yeah, yeah." Deon waved his free hand. "Make sure everything is wrapped up all nice and pretty."

'Thanks Deon." He said with relief.

"Yeah. Now are you gonna tell me what is going on?" Deon's deep voice rumbled /in question.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> slowly made her way out of the hospital. No one remarked upon her appearance or bothered her in any way. A nice nurse even helped her out to the front of the building in a wheelchair. The nurse was even nice enough to help her flag down a cab and help her in.

She instructed a cabbie to drop her off at the nearest internet café. She stepped shakily from the cab and managed to stand in line for a hot chocolate and settle herself in front of a computer monitor. She sipped at the hot liquid and began surfing the internet. She looked up Barry's address as well as got caught up on current events, as well as a few other things. She paid special attention to the article regarding the night of the explosion. She was relieved to read that the little girl had been released by Mr. White, however the fact that Mr. White had held the child hostage to begin with made his actions unforgivable.

Katherine grimly stared at her monitor, the relieved faces of the little girl, Emma's, parents staring back ay her.

Her jaw began to ache she was clenching her teeth together so hard. Mr. White did not know it, but he was currently living on borrowed time, because she was a woman of her word. Mr. White had been partially successful in that he had killed Katherine. By forcing her to shoot and almost kill Leonardo, the Katherine she had been had died. The Katherine that rose from the literal ashes was not as forgiving as the old Katherine had been. In fact, the new Katherine was malicious, vengeful and very, very angry. She just hoped that she would be able to mete out a tiny bit of mercy to those who deserved it, but she didn't think many would fall into that category.

She finished up and went to the Washroom before she left. The washroom was thankfully empty. She stared in the mirror and slowly pulled off her glasses.

She looked at her overly gaunt face and pulled the white toque from her head. Her eyes widened in surprise at what was left of her hair. It was more straight than she was used to, but that was probably a result of not showering for who knew how long. She repressed a shudder at the thought and touched a strand of shoulder length hair. Her hair had gone completely silver, except for the tips which were still her natural brownish-reddish blonde. She gave a grim smile and pulled the toque back over her head. She strode from the bathroom and walked out of the café.

She hailed a cab and gave directions to Barry's address. She knew that the only way she would find out what why she had woken up at the hospital would be to talk to Barry.

She watched the lights of New York City flash to life as darkness began to fall. She tried and failed to keep her mind off of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello. She only hoped that Leonardo managed to make it out safely.

She briefly closed her eyes. She could still hear Leonardo's anguished cry when he discovered that he was still alive, and that she had left him chained to the wall.

She opened her eyes. She wanted to rush to the lair, but she couldn't, not yet. Someone had come too close to killing her and Leonardo, but even more than that, someone had dragged an innocent child into their war, (and they were at war) and she could not forgive them.

Katherine watched as the cab pulled up to the iron gates of Barry's house/mansion. She slowly got out of the cab, throwing the black duffel bag over her shoulder.

She had to find Mr. White and The Face. The sooner the better, because this had to end. She knew that as long as they roamed the streets of New York, no one would be safe. She had no doubt that the two would rip the city apart and burn it to the ground to find her. And she just couldn't put the whole city of New York at risk because of her. She also couldn't bear to put Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo in anymore danger.

She buzzed at the gate and waited a few minutes until she heard a familiar voice answer.

"Hello Mr. Milton." She said in a soft voice. "I think we need to talk." She said to his stammered exclamation.

The gate in front of her buzzed and she slowly opened the door. She gradually made her way up the long driveway.

Barry suddenly burst from the front door of his house, running towards her. He looked as if he had been planning an evening out. He was dressed in a t-shirt and blue blazer with dark blue-jeans.

He rushed to her side and grabbed her by the shoulders. He studied her face, grabbed the black duffel bag from her grasp and quickly swept her up into his arms before she collapsed.

Katherine allowed her eyes to close as exhaustion rode over her.

She chastised herself for allowing herself to close her eyes as the weariness tried to drag her down. She was supposed to sweep into Barry`s house and demand answers. But it looked like that would be an unrealistic expectation at the moment.

Her head way laying on Barry's shoulder. He smelled of musk, soap and lemon and although his scent was pleasing, there were two other male scents that she would rather bury herself in.

"Deon!" Barry yelled in panic.

A deep masculine voice she recognized from the hospital tried to calm Barry down.

"Just set her on the couch." Deon said gently. "You have got to remember, she just woke up from being in a coma for three months. I'm surprised she managed to make it out of the hospital on her own let alone make it here."

Katherine opened her eyes and looked at the man who was currently poking and prodding her. "I don't think we have been properly introduced." She said as she struggled to sit up.

"My name is Rudy Deon Winter. My friends call me Deon. I'm a doctor and you need to lie down and rest." Deon insisted.

"I will." She said sitting up. "But first I would like to know what happened after I was blown up, and how you two came to be involved?" She said looking at Barry.

Barry flicked a quick glance at the back of Deon's head before kneeling down in front of her. He gently took her hand in his. "Listen, I know you have been through a lot, and that you don't really know me very well and you are probably a little confused and that is to be expected, but I think you should listen to Deon and tomorrow I can explain what is going on."

"Barry." Deon said as he pushed Barry out of the way. "The last time I checked you weren't a doctor. So move out of the way and let me do my job." Deon said staring his friend down.

Katherine felt herself smile as the friends bickered back and forth. She lost her smile as their bickering reminded her of the brothers. She felt a pang of want swell deep within her, but she pushed the feeling down. She needed to get at least a small step closer to finding out who had tried to kill her and Leonardo before she could face Leonardo and Raphael again, since the war had become all about her.

"I would like to ask you a few questions." Deon said giving Barry stink eye. Barry glared at his friend, stood and sat down next to her. "I am going to ask you a few questions. You hit your head and damaged your cerebral cortex." Deon said gently.

Katherine nodded. She hadn't been in a coma for three months for no reason. Deon shot a quick glance at Barry and continued.

"Can you tell me your name?" Deon asked her.

Katherine felt Barry stiffen beside her, but she answered Deon's question. "My name is Katherine Anastasia Wraith, though I prefer Katherine Brooks, which was my father's last name, because I like to distance myself from my mother and family name. I was born January 23rd 1990, which would make me 22 since I was in a coma during my birthday and today is March 21st 2012. Is there anything else you would like to know?" She asked.

Deon's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, you are…?" He began but Barry interrupted him.

"Deon." Barry warned.

"Do you remember what happened the night of your…accident?" Deon continued.

"That is a nice way to put that someone tried to blow me up. And yes I do. Are we done with my mental evaluation? I have some questions to ask Barry." She said as she studied the man beside her.

"Deon why don't you go get Katherine something to drink." Barry said to his curious friend.

"Sure, I can take a hint." Deon said with resignation as he stood.

"A hot chocolate would be nice, thank you." She said as she watched Deon's tall figure walk away.

"Miss Brooks…Katherine," Barry began his voice taking on his southern drawl. "I know you don't know me very well and would have no reason to trust me, but I can protect you. Everything you need to disappear is in this duffel bag, money, a passport, documentation. I bought a house in Tuscany where you can go."

Katherine blinked at Barry as he continued. "You can stay there as long as you want. I can go with you if you want, but don't feel like you have to accept my company if it is too soon."

He began to ramble when she remained silent. He ran a nervous hand through his hair. "I…someone tried to kill you and…and I know you just got out of a…very complicated…uh…relationship, so… I know we just met…but…" He stammered to a stop as if he was unsure how to continue.

"I know Barry, and I thank you for everything you have done for me. But I can't run away." She said gently.

Barry looked at her in shock. "Katherine…" He began.

"I know. I am not a fighter or a soldier, but I can't let the man who threatened that little girl get away with what he did, and I can't let his boss think that he can take over this city either. Actually Chicago would probably do better without him as well." She put in as an afterthought.

"Katherine…" He tried again.

"So I need your help." Katherine said to Barry whose eyes had widened. "I need you to help me find Mr. White. I find him, I find his boss."

"You…you…They tried to kill you and now you are telling me you want to go after this guy?" Barry exclaimed.

Katherine looked Barry straight in the eye. "He strapped a bomb around my neck, held a gun to a little girl's head, and got me to shoot and nearly kill the man I love. Mr. White is going to pay. Very slowly, but he will pay, which is why I need your help." She said darkly.

"Katherine, are you…are you saying that you are going to track this guy down and kill him?" He asked in shocked horror.

"I made Mr. White a promise, and I am afraid I am honour bound to keep my word." She said emotionlessly.

She pulled a piece of paper from within her jacket and gave it to Barry. "Help me find him. I'm not asking you to kill him." She said as Barry slowly opened the picture she had sketched of Mr. White while she had been at the internet café. "I also need weapons." She said to him.

Barry's mouth dropped open as he shook his head.

"I don't want guns or anything like that. What I want is that bullet your father's company has been working on. Specifically I want the properties of the disintegrating bullet translated into an arrow that disintegrates on contact, leaving the damage, but no tangible evidence that an arrow was used." Katherine told him bluntly.

"That…What bullet?" He asked his voice quickly losing its twang.

"Barry, we could play this game all night where you deny any knowledge of the bullet or the weapon's contract your father has with the government, or you can just tell me if it can be done."

Barry opened his mouth and snapped it shut. "I could send the specifications to the technicians and engineers that designed the bullet and find out." He acknowledged."But how…?" He asked in confusion.

"Where there is smoke, there is fire Barry. And besides, you would be amazed at what you can learn from someone who is a genius and hacks government or harder systems for fun." She said thinking about Donatello before shifting her mind back to the topic at hand.

A deep throaty chuckle sounded throughout the room. Katherine gave a half smile. "Damn girl! I was wondering what kind of woman had managed to turn my boy here right on his head."

"Shut up Rudy." Barry grumbled.

"Ouch." Deon said as he placed a hand over his heart. "Only my momma calls me Rudy. That was a low blow bro." Deon said with fake hurt in his voice.

"Deon, loose the 'hood' talk, you grew up in Michigan." Barry said with a shake if his head, a slight smile on his face.

Katherine smiled and stood. Both men looked at her in concern. "I never would have thought of you as being a stalker Barry." She said as she pulled the duffel bag onto the couch.

Barry stood quickly and stammered out a denial.

"I must have made quite the impression on you." She said with a soft smile.

"I…you..." Barry stammered over his words, slipping back into his natural accent.

"So you followed me after the dinner and auction and ran into a burning building to save me?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Barry gave a brief smile but turned serious. "I followed your…uh…exes and their brothers into the building after the first bomb exploded. The...uh…Mikey found you hanging from the ceiling. You were in a bad way, your….uh…Leo? He was really bad."

Katherine felt the blood drain from her face. Barry grabbed her, probably believing that she was going to faint, which she wasn't, but she appreciated the extra support. "Is he okay?" She whispered softly.

"He was stable when he left. Donny had to perform surgery on his leg. He had a nicked femoral artery along with a broken arm, and mild burns." Barry told her gently. "But I don't know if he suffered any other injuries or complications after they left here."

Katherine frowned in thought. "How was Raphael?" She asked him.

"Uh…Raph?" Barry asked as Katherine nodded. "He burnt his hands, and Mikey said he had mild smoke inhalation and had to be on oxygen for a few hours, but afterwards...well...he was angry." He replied. "And worried. But mostly just…angry."

Katherine nodded slightly. She knew Leonardo and she knew that he would not take the fact that someone had tried to kill her very well. He also would have a hard time dealing with his injuries, but she knew that if Raphael was angry and raging, he would keep Leonardo balanced.

She also knew that if any of the brothers knew of her plans to find Mr. White as well as her other plans, that they would try to stop her. So she would give herself time to put some things in place before she went to the lair.

"Barry, check on those things for me, and do me a favour, get me a razor, some shaving cream and a pair of scissors. I am having a shower and then I am going to bed. Since you offered I am going to crash here for a little bit." She pulled out of Barry's grip, turning and walking away. She stopped with her foot on the first stair that would take her up to the upper level. "I still love them Barry. And you may not understand any of what is going on, but I do appreciate what you have done for me. And yes, if I were not already in love with two men, I would have happily dated you." She said as she walked up the stairs. "And I like your accent." She said as she reached the upper floor.

"Barry, that chick is too much woman for you." Deon said with a throaty chuckle.

Katherine shook her head and walked into a spare bedroom. She walked into the bathroom and started up the shower. She stepped into the shower and resisted the urge to run as fast as she could back to the lair, but she couldn't.

She brushed a gentle hand across her thickening belly and watched the water run down the drain.

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> looked at the grey granite gravestone in front of him. The letters were etched in stark black.

**LEONARDO**

**January 16, 1985 –March 21 2012**

"I tried to warn you Leo." Raphael's rough voice rode over his skin as ash lightly began to dust Leonardo's shoulders.

He looked over at his bare faced brother who crouched down next to him in front of Katherine's gravestone.

"You are now bound by the same chains of grief that bound me here 20 years ago Leo."

"If this is my punishment for having failed her, then I can bear it." He said softly.

Raphael stood, the tangible chains of his grief jingling as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Leonardo looked down at the chains attached to the manacles that now circled his wrists. One chain was wrapped around his headstone; the other was wrapped around Katherine's.

"You always were an asshole Leo." Raphael replied gruffly.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I know still sad and angsty, but I think everyone will be excited about the next chapter=)<strong>

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome!;)**


	18. Chapter 18

** A big giant thank you as always to Amoraphoenix for beta reading and giving beautiful ideas for this chapter.**

**Also a huge thank you to my reviewers hellgirl-fan1, Mela989898, Kaaayyytteee, and chibiwolf33**

**Please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 18<span>

**Katherine** pulled the arrow back and let it go. It streaked through the air slicing past the dummy's shoulder leaving a gash as the arrow shattered and splintered into tiny wooden pieces.

Katherine gave a grim smile as Barry walked up behind her.

"I will admit I didn't really understand what the point of an arrow that would basically shatter when it hit a target, but I think I understand now." Barry said his thick southern drawl in place as he removed his safety glasses. "Your intention is not to actually shoot into someone, but rather, to brush the tip past them."

Katherine smiled at him over her shoulder and nodded. It had been a week and she knew she couldn't stay much longer for various reasons. She needed to get to the lair because she was missing the brothers, but she knew had to finish up putting her plans in place before then. She was allowing herself another week and regardless of the implementation of her plans, she would go.

"How were you able to get this prototype so quickly?" She asked him.

Barry gave a negligent shrug. "You would be amazed at how fast some of those engineers can work when they have the right motivation." He said with a charming smile.

She raised an eyebrow in question.

"A trip for two to a beautiful Italian Villa." Barry said, his smile faltering slightly.

Katherine winced slightly. "I'm sorry Barry." She said softly as she gently touched his cheek.

"Hey, I get it." He said brushing the back of her hand with his own before stepping away. "You need to make sure the bad guys suffer."

"That isn't what I am apologizing for." She replied.

"I know." Barry said looking away. He recovered his smile. "But I do have a surprise for you." He said as he walked over to the corner of the indoor tennis court that they were using as a shooting range. He pulled a black stick from beneath his jacket that he had placed in the corner.

He handed her the stick and smiled brightly. "Think of it as a 'good luck on your evil plans for revenge' present."

Katherine pressed the button and the sick expanded into an already strung bow.

She looked at him in shock.

"It's a really nice villa." Barry said with a chuckle at her stunned expression.

"So you are my 'Q'?" She asked as she pulled back the string of the bow, testing the draw and weight.

Barry just smiled a sad sort of smile. "I'm not good with technology; I'm just the rich guy who knows all the right people."

Katherine gave Barry a brilliant smile. "So…more like Batman." She chuckled as she gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

Barry stammered out a 'you're welcome' as Deon strode onto the court waving a piece of paper. "Who's your daddy?" Deon asked with a beaming smile.

"You found him?" Katherine asked in shock.

"After scanning through days of surveillance photos all by myself…" Deon began mournfully.

"Shut up Deon, you just plugged his sketch into the government's photo recognition software and then hacked the city's surveillance grid." Barry said crossing his arms over his chest.

"All by myself." Deon reiterated.

"So where is he?" Katherine questioned as she took the grainy surveillance photo from Deon's hand.

She looked at Mr. White emerging from a tall stone building. "The Plaza?" She questioned.

"If that's the guy, then yeah." Deon said with a nod.

Katherine tapped the photo against her lips in thought. "I think we should give Mr. White a visit. And by we, I mean me." She said as she walked from the tennis court and through the hallway, Barry and Deon stuttering protests along the way.

"Calm down you two I'm not going to confront him; I am just going to start slowly tormenting him." She said without emotion.

* * *

><p><strong>Mr. White<strong> strolled slowly towards The Plaza Hotel. He was getting frustrated. He wanted to get back to Chicago. New York was all fine and well, but gang wars were not his thing. He was a hit man, plain and simple. He killed people or kidnapped them or threatened them, he did not go around trying to get the gangs to get along with each other. Sure he could threaten the gang leaders, but it was not his job to break up the fights or the infighting that was beginning to occur within the gangs that The Face had managed to sway to his side.

The phone in his pocket vibrated. He pulled out his phone. "Yeah, I'm on my way back now." He said to his boss as he closed the phone and shoved it back in his pocket. His hand brushed against the woman's phone. He had gotten rid of the creature's phone after three months, but had hung onto the woman's. No one had called, but the woman's mother had texted to say that she was going out of the country with the rest of the family so would be out of contact for a few months. Mr. White had not answered the text, but it was the only one he had received. It explained why the woman's death had not been noticed yet, but he figured it would only be a matter of time.

Mr. White glanced around him at the sound of approaching footsteps, but the street was empty except for him. He pulled up the collar of his jacket and shoved his hands in his pocket, quickening his pace slightly.

For the last week he had begun to have the distinct feeling of being watched. His skin began to crawl as he felt eyes watching him. He knew he was being ridiculous. There was no one following him, they wouldn't dare, and if they did, there would be some serious, if not deadly, repercussions.

His eyes scanned the darkened side streets again and frowned as he spotted a streak of white. He felt a pull at his shoulder. He stopped and frowned as his arm reaching up to his shoulder. His fingers went through his leather jacket touching the blazer beneath. He frowned as he studied the slice in his jacket. He looked wildly around him but found no sign that there was anything that could have possibly sliced his jacket.

Mr. White walked faster and then broke into a run. He looked over his shoulder but saw no one following him. He entered the Plaza and threaded his way through the elegant lobby, finally stumbling into the elevator.

"There are no such things as ghosts." He said to himself. He looked at his pale reflection in the mirrored surface in front of him. "I probably caught it on something earlier and didn't notice." He said to himself. The elevator stopped on his floor, the doors sliding open. He glanced up and down the hallway before exiting the elevator. The hallway was empty. He closed his eyes and straightened his coat. _I am being ridiculous_. He thought as he walked down the hall to his room.

"I made you a promise, Mr. White." A feminine voice whispered in his ear.

His head swung around in panic as he drew his gun from its holster. There was no one in the hall. Panic crawled up and lodged itself in his throat. He shakily pulled his card from his pocket and slid it through the card reader without turning around or lowering his gun.

He backed into his room and closed his door as if a piece of wood would stop a dead woman.

"There are no such things as ghosts." He said out loud, as if by saying the words aloud would make them any truer.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> looked at Barry who was wearing a grim yet slightly satisfied look on his face. Barry dropped the tiny speaker into her hand. Since she hadn't been able to convince Barry and Deon that this was something she needed to do alone, she had decided to at least make the two men useful.

It had been easy enough to tail Mr. White for the past week and find out what room was his. It had been even easier for Barry to waltz into the hotel and plant the speaker along the door frame of Mr. White's door. Then Barry just had to walk down the hall, collect the tiny speaker, and exit the Hotel, meeting her and Deon out front.

"I think Mr. White will create his own ghosts for now." Katherine said as she gave the speaker back.

Barry gave her a worried look. "Katherine…" He began.

"I need to go Barry." She said to him softly. "I've been here long enough and I have done what I need to do. And I have had this feeling that something is wrong with the boys." Katherine said as she tried to quell the feeling of unease

"You can stay here as long as you need to." He insisted, grabbing her hands in his own.

Katherine smiled. "I know and I appreciate that, but I am running out of time."

Barry shook his head. "You can't be serious." He said with apprehension.

"I can't stay sort of dead forever Barry. In six months my uncle's exhibit has its grand opening, and I have to be there to open the exhibit since my uncle has decided to take a yearlong honeymoon."

"Katherine these people want you dead. Who cares about the exhibit?"

"I care about my life Barry. That is why I need you to do what I asked you to do." She said to him.

He gave her one last desperate glance before giving a reluctant nod. "I should never have let you talk to your mother. That woman is going to be the death of you."

Katherine gave a grim smile. "Are you coming?" She asked instead of answering him.

He pulled his keys from his pocket. "Are you sure you want me to come?" He asked.

Katherine shrugged. "You can drive." She said as she turned her attention to Deon. She gave the tall man a hug. "Thank you for everything." She said to him as he hugged her back.

"You take care of yourself." Deon said with a waver in his voice. "You call and I will get everything ready."

"Thank you." She said as she pulled away.

She looked at Barry who opened the passenger side door of the Bugatti for her. She slid into the orange leather seat and waited until he slid into the driver's seat. The roar of the engine rolled over her as Barry looked over at her.

"So how do we get there?" He asked.

Katherine yawned. It was only a little after 8:00pm but she was tired. Playing ghost stalker for the last week had been exhausting.

"You know where you are going." She said as she settled further into the seat and closed her eyes.

"I've been there but Mikey made me cover my eyes." He informed her.

Katherine yawned again and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "True, but you are a smart man Barry and I know this is a very expensive car with a nice GPS tracking unit in it where you can pull up and see everywhere your car has been, even if it wasn't put into your GPS. So I know you know where you are going." She said as she closed her eyes again.

"Katherine, your talents are seriously being wasted painting." Barry said with a smirk.

"Uh-huh. I'm sure you say that to all the girls." Katherine said with a smile.

"Katherine." Barry began as she felt him shift to face her. She opened her eyes and looked into his deeply concerned blue eyes. "I am serious. We could use someone like you at my father's company. You could go wherever you wanted in the world. You don't have to do this."

"Yes I do Barry. I have thought about it over and over and this is what I need to do." She said softly.

"What about what you _want _to do_?_" Barry asked desperately.

"There is more than just my life on the line Barry. Sometimes you have to do what is needed, rather than what is wanted." She told him.

"There will be no going back." Barry warned.

She smiled then. "I am past the point where I could ever go back Barry. To go back I would have to give up too much."

"Are they really worth it?" He asked softly.

"Do you know the Wraith family motto Barry?" She asked him.

"Sure, _Nobilitas, Animosus, Perseverantia_." Barry said to her.

Katherine nodded. "Nobility, Courage, Perseverance." She said to him.

"And you are all of those things, but it doesn't mean you have to sacrifice yourself." Barry said desperately.

"Barry, this isn't about me. It is about not having innocent children kidnapped in the middle of the night; about getting murderers off the street for good."

"Katherine…" Barry began again, but Katherine cut him off.

"My family adopted that motto during the early 18th century. If you can't tell, the conjugations are all off and wrong. It's close, but not correct. It sounded more…business friendly, and more in line with our family's new station. And it fit much better on rings and shields and stationary than the original. But our family still lives by the actual motto, at least the last part. _Thieves, Cutthroats, Outlaws all; Yet, Lo be to those who rise against us, for we protect what is our own_. So you see Barry, even though this is so much bigger than me or them. I protect what is mine. And they are worth it, they all are."

Barry was silent for a few minutes before nodding. "I think if I ever meet a woman half as amazing as you, I will be a lucky man." Barry said as he shifted the car into drive.

Katherine chuckled softly as she shook her head and closed her eyes again with a tired sigh.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> watched as Donatello exited his lab where they had set up an infirmary for Leonardo, who had been lying in a catatonic state for the past two weeks. He hadn't really understood what that had meant. Donatello had explained it as Leonardo's mind being split in half. Half of his mind, the part that had Leonardo's personality and his memories was trapped within his own mind. Raphael and his brothers got to deal with the other half, the half that was nothing more than and automaton. Leonardo would eat if you fed him, repeat words if you talked to him, move if you moved him, but that was it. Basically the lights were on, but no one was home.

Donatello looked at him and shook his head slightly, indicating there was still no change in Leonardo's condition.

He felt his shoulders slump in defeat.

"He's never going to get better, is he?" Raphael growled softly.

Donatello sighed. "There is nothing physically wrong with him Raph. His cuts are still healing, but he will recover if we can get him out of his catatonic state."

Raphael closed his eyes in frustration. There was nothing he could do. There was nothing any of them could do and they had tried. They had tried talking to Leonardo, yelling at him, threatening him, physically moving him around, but nothing had worked.

Michelangelo walked out of the lab with a bowl of oatmeal in his hands. Michelangelo had dark circles under his eyes and his normally vibrant skin was paler than it should be.

Raphael shared a look with Donatello who took the bowl from Michelangelo's unresisting grip.

"He still refusing to eat?" Raphael asked his youngest brother.

Michelangelo nodded glumly.

Raphael let out a frustrated sigh. For the last four days they hadn't been able to get him to eat at all. They could barely force water into him anymore.

Donatello had confided in Raphael that Leonardo's mind was slowly shutting down and if it didn't stop soon their brother would enter into a vegetative state that would ultimately lead to his brother's death. Donatello said he could only keep Leonardo's body alive for so long, but not indefinitely. He remembered Donatello's chilling words' _If Leo doesn't have the will to live anymore there is nothing that I can do that will keep him alive.'_

They had tried inserting a feeding tube and IV, but Leonardo always managed to find a way to pull everything out. After the fourth failed attempt Donatello refused to try again, fearful of the damage that Leonardo could be doing to himself.

Donatello put a comforting hand on Michelangelo's shoulder, but whatever he was going to say was left unsaid as the security alarm was tripped. Flashing lights and the loud blare of the alarm filled the lair.

Raphael's eyes widened in shock as he bolted to his room for his sais. He met his armed brothers in in the hallway as they rushed to confront the intruders.

"Donny!" Raphael barked at his younger brother who ran to the large central computer that was surrounded by the circular pool of water in the center of the main room.

"It's a perimeter sensor. And whoever or whatever is coming, is coming fast." He said pointing at the blinking green dot that indicated that someone was already in the lair.

Raphael clutched his sais tightly in his white knuckled grasp as he ran to the garage area.

Raphael skidded to a halt as he recognized Barry's black Bugatti. Barry was leaning on the hood, arms crossed across his chest, a grim look on his face.

Raphael felt the blood drain from his face. His heart clenched in fear, he couldn't take any more bad news or tragedy in his life...he just couldn't. If Katherine had decided to leave and run away, that was fine, that was understandable, but he couldn't bear it if Katherine had died of her injuries, any more than he could bear Leonardo's progressively downhill catatonic state.

Adrenalin rushed through him at the thought that Leonardo knew. That somehow Leonardo had known that Katherine had died and it was they who hadn't known all along. Leonardo had always been more sensitive to the spirit world than any of his brothers.

Barry pushed himself from the hood of the car. "You guys look like hell. And that is saying something considering the last time I saw you a building had been blown up around you."

"You gonna tell us why you're here?" Raphael asked softly as Donatello finally shut off the blaring alarm.

Barry's eyes widened as he scanned each of them. Barry became grimmer as he walked over to the passenger door. He opened the door and leaned in pulling out a limp figure.

Katherine lay in Barry's arms like a pale and perfect doll. Fear and grief momentarily rolled through Raphael at the thought that Katherine was dead and that Barry was bringing her body to them, to see before burying her.

Katherine's eyes flashed open as she struggled in Barry's grip. "Barry I was sleeping not unconscious. Put me down." Katherine's soft voice floated over the roof of the car. Raphael felt his legs give out from underneath him, his knees striking the cold stone floor hard. His chin sinking to his chest as hot tears of relief filled his eyes.

Katherine was suddenly kneeling before him. He looked up at her in near disbelief. It had been so long since he had seen her it was as if she was more dream than reality. Her face was paler than he remembered, her hair tucked up under a white hat. She was wearing a bulky down filled white jacket, jeans and black boots. She wiped a tear from his cheek that he didn't even realize had fallen.

"Where is Leonardo?" Katherine asked in a shaky voice. Raphael looked at the woman he loved with guilt filled eyes.

"Katherine, Leo… He…" Raphael stammered but couldn't finish, instead he started shaking his head back and forth as his eyes broke from hers as he stared grimly down at the floor.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> studied Raphael's pale, gaunt face. He had dark smudges beneath his eyes and deep lines carved between his eye ridges and beneath his eyes. She flicked a quick glance at Donatello and Michelangelo who didn't look any better than Raphael, her heart sinking into her stomach like a ball of lead. She listened to Raphael's stammered reply, but she was already up and running to Leonardo's bedroom.

According to Deon, Leonardo should be on crutches at the moment. So he would be mobile, but limited in his mobility. That is if Leonardo hadn't suffered any other injuries or complications that Barry didn't know of.

"Katherine, wait!" Michelangelo yelled as she dashed out of the garage area and up the stairs to the bedrooms. She had only been to the lair once, but she knew which room was Leonardo's.

"Katherine!" Donatello's voice barely registered as she threw open Leonardo's bedroom door.

She looked in horror at the bloody bed, walls and floor. There was even blood on the ceiling she noticed with growing terror. It looked as someone had been slaughtered. But the blood was dark brown, which meant that it was old.

"He…he thought you were dead." Michelangelo's stammering voice drifted through the fog that seemed to have consumed her soul.

She braced herself on Leonardo's door frame before she fell over. She felt as if she couldn't breathe. _Wouldn't she know?_ She wondered_. If Leonardo had died, wouldn't she have known that he was gone? wouldn't she have felt him slip away?_ She thought irrationally, because most times you didn't know when a loved one had died, no matter how much you loved them.

Raphael's arms went around her from behind, pulling her from the room and against his plastron as Donatello gently closed the door. Katherine slowly sank to her knees with Raphael following her, never breaking the tender embrace. She rested her head against Raphael's chest taking comfort in his strong heart beat ad she burrowed deeper into his embrace as he wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "Leo's still alive Kitten." Raphael's voice whispered into her ear gently, "But…" Raphael seemed as if he was unable to continue.

"Katherine, maybe you had better come sit down in the living room." Donatello urged as Raphael stood up and began leading her down the hall to go back to the main level.

Katherine dug in her heels. "Tell me what happened." She said to Donatello, her voice surprisingly steady considering the wave after wave of horrified terror that gripped her heart.

She pulled out of Raphael's arms and focused her attention on Donatello who began discussing Leonardo's injuries. The injuries he had suffered were the ones she had known about, but there had been a few complications that she hadn't known about.

"He thought you were dead." Raphael's voice was low and anguished as if it was somehow his fault that Leonardo hadn't believed them and had decided to take his own life rather than live with his perceived injuries and without her. "It's my fault Kitten. If Leo hadn't heard me and my big mouth…" Raphael began as Michelangelo slipped a crumpled, tear and blood streaked note into her hand.

"Mikey…" Raphael hissed in surprise.

"She needs to see it Raph." Michelangelo said softly a hitch of sorrow in his voice.

She forced down the riot of emotions that rode through her and opened the note with shaking hands. Scrawled in a hurried script were the last thoughts Leonardo had before he slit his wrists and tried to slit his own throat.

_Raph,_  
><em>I'm sorry. I know you probably hate me right now, but I don't think that you can hate me as much as I hate myself. I failed you, I failed Katherine, and I failed our family. Because of my injuries I am unable to avenge Katherine's death, and so the only way I could ever atone for my failure in not protecting the woman you loved, was with my life. Please take care of Mikey and Donny.<em>  
><em>Don't worry, you think Katherine would forgive me, but I don't think I deserve her forgiveness or yours, so I won't ask.<em>  
><em>I love you<em>

_Leonardo_

She crumpled the note in her hand as rage burned and flowed through her like a cold arctic wind that suddenly blazed molten hot. She was normally able to keep her temper in check. The Wraiths were famous for their hot tempers and temperaments, but she had always been the calm, cool, collected member of her family. But at this moment there was nothing calm, cool or collected about the waves of anger, betrayal and hurt that burned like a wildfire and stoked by a strong wind through every nerve of her body.

The worst part was that she felt guilty. She felt as if she had come to the lair earlier she could have prevented all of this from happening. But the problem was that it wasn't her fault. She could have been in a coma for another month or even years. There was no way of knowing that she would have recovered when she did. She could have taken Barry up on his offer to hide away in Italy. (Not that this was ever a real option, but it if the situation were different, and perhaps if she was a little saner, she would have gone.) It was not her fault. Period. The only one who should feel guilty for what he put his family through was Leonardo. He was their big brother and their leader and he had abandoned them. All blame lay squarely on his shoulders.

She crushed the note in her hands as she turned around. She looked at Barry who was looking at her with grim shock and horror.

He looked into her eyes and took a surprised step back as she strode past him to Donatello's lab, jamming the note in her jean's pocket.

She opened the door to the lab and all she could see was Leonardo's shell and the back of his head. She could see that he was not wearing his mask either; instead it lay beside him on a nearby nightstand. Donatello's lab looked like a makeshift infirmary with, IV poles, extra bedding a food tray and the stench of illness lingered in the air.

She walked towards the bed. "Kath…" Donatello's words were cut off and she looked over her shoulder at Raphael who was lightly holding Donatello's shoulder, holding him back.

She stopped in thought. "Donatello, how injured is he?" She asked.

Donatello looked at her in confusion but answered her. "All of the injuries he suffered in the building have completely healed, to the extent that they can. His leg will of course require physiotherapy. The injuries he sustained from his suicide attempt are almost healed. He cut his arms deep enough to hit the bone, so they are only partially healed and are still very tender. But the cut on his neck, even though is shallow he damaged the muscle and it isn't completely healed yet.

She nodded as she approached the bed. She took a deep breath as she took hold of Leonardo's carapace, rolling him onto his back.

She repressed a gasp as she looked into the gaunt, skeletal face of the man she loved. Leonardo's body looked as if it had shrunk in on itself, his shell hanging off of him like an overlarge jacket. She felt her eyes brim with tears as she blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. She gently touched his bony cheek. His face looked naked without his mask. All of the brothers rarely removed their masks, as if they were more a part of them then it being just a scrap of fabric. She reached over and picked up the scrap of cerulean blue from the night table. Usually the only time they ever took their masks off was when they showered. Even when she had made love to both Raphael and Leonardo the masks stayed on, and she rather liked being able to play with the tails of the masks in the throes of their intimacy.

She grasped the mask more tightly in her hand, grabbed hold of her anger and cloaked herself in it. She angrily pulled the toque from her head and she heard a gasp of surprise. She unzipped her jacket and let it fall to the floor.

She studied Leonardo's face. He was staring blankly at her as if he didn't even realize that she was there. Which to him, she wasn't. She clenched her teeth together so tightly her jaw hurt.

She gently touched his cheek, pulled her hand back, curled her hand more tightly around his mask and punched him in the face hard enough that his nostril began to trickle blood.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Leonardo<strong>__ felt something burn across his jaw. He shook the ash from his shoulder as he opened his eyes. He looked at where Raphael usually kept his silent vigil over Katherine's grave, only his brother was not there anymore. Instead Katherine stood on her own grave._

_"You bastard." She growled angrily. "How dare you." She said as she stalked towards him, her eyes were so light a green they were nearly white._

_He hastily stood, his bad leg nearly giving out beneath him as pain shot through it. He had learned that even in death he was not free from his injuries. Of course he was not free from his guilt so why should he be free from his injuries?_

_"K…Katherine." He managed to stammer out as the object of his guilt stood in front of him. She looked just as he remembered her. Her long golden curls poured over her shoulders, and framed her face like a golden halo. _

_"You selfish, arrogant, heartless, idiotic bastard." She hissed at him softly. Her voice full of repressed rage. "Do you have any idea what you have done to your brothers?" She asked him in a hard, icy voice._

_"They are better off without me." He told her. "I was nothing but a burden to them, a liability."_

_"Did you ever stop to think for even a moment that you killing yourself, would destroy your family? Did you ever think that maybe they would blame themselves for your death and that it would slowly begin to eat them up alive...tear them apart?" She asked him._

_"I did the only thing I could to avenge you. You died because I was too weak to protect you. I failed you." He said softly. "If only I could have saved you, just once." He said to her desperately. 'But I won't ask you to forgive me. I can't let you forgive me. I deserve my suffering. I deserve my death...this afterlife" He finished in a choked whisper._

_"I told you Leonardo, that the world would be a sadder place without you in it. I told you that there was a difference between honour and stupidity."_

_"I did the honourable thing Katherine. It was the only thing I __could__ do. I didn't want Raphael to have to look at me with hatred in his eyes for the rest of his life and know that I failed the woman he and I loved. I let you die right in front of me and I couldn't do anything to stop it." His voice cracked with grief._

_"Do you have any idea what I risked so that you could live? "Katherine roared. "I risked that little girl's life to make sure you lived, and this is how you repay me, by trying to kill yourself?" She asked in disbelief._

_"I'm dead Katherine, just like you." He replied softly. "Nothing can change that."_

_"I swear to you Leonardo, if you don't wake the hell up right now. I will never forgive you, __**ever**__. And forever is a very, very long time. I'm still alive and so are you, so wake up, right __**NOW**__!" She yelled as she struck him hard across the face._

_Pain blazed across his cheek and through his jaw._

_He was dead and so was Katherine._

_"Don't make me hit you again Leonardo. I said wake up right Now!" Katherine's voice reverberated through him like a bell that had struck the perfect note._

Leonardo blinked slowly and looked up at the apparition in front of him. A halo of short, silver curls framed Katherine's beloved face that was filled with righteous fury, like some avenging angel. Tears glittered on darkened lashes and refused to fall as she blinked them back.

"I always knew that you would be an angel." He said to her softly as he reached out and grasped a silver curl in front of him.

Katherine pulled away and he followed her movements as she slid to his side. His eyes widened in shock as Katherine stood beside him. Just past Katherine he could see Raphael holding onto Donatello as if stopping him from approaching an enraged Katherine. Michelangelo was kneeling on the floor, tears running down his face, while Barry Milton stood just outside the door, a stunned, miserable look on his face. His gaze drifted back to Katherine who looked at him angrily as his mind tried to process what his eyes were telling him couldn't be real...yet somehow was.

He felt himself pale as a riot of emotions flowed through him, starting with shock and disbelief and slowly working up to unbridled joy.

Katherine grabbed a handful of bedding. "It is time to get out of bed Leonardo. You have been lying there long enough." She said as she tugged back on the bedding. He felt himself being pulled off the bed hitting the floor with a jarring shock through his carapace.

* * *

><p><strong>I think Kitten's mad...<strong>

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Alrighty all, chapter 19, I think it is going to be pretty good! (Okay but I am biased;)**

**Anyway, as always, a giant thank you to Amoraphoenix for beta reading and adding her lovely suggestions for this chapter! You rock!**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers moonie016, chibiwolf33, icecreampopstar, Kaaayyytteee and D.**

**Also this chapter is kinda long...but soooo much was going on! please enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 19<span>

**Raphael** blinked in shock as Katherine angrily pulled the hat from her head. Instead of the glorious waterfall of golden, copper and russet waves and curls that he was expecting, a short riot of silver curls was revealed instead. He heard Michelangelo let out a gasp of surprise as Katherine quickly shucked her jacket aside, revealing a bulky yellow hoodie, and climbed onto the bed.

Raphael winced as Katherine pulled her hand back, Leonardo's masked tightly clutched between her fingers, and punched Leonardo across the face. Though he had to give a slight smile because she had done what he had wanted to do for the past two weeks, but Donatello would not let him for fear of aggravating Leonardo's neck injury or mental state further.

Raphael grabbed Donatello's shoulder lightly as he saw his brother move to intervene on his injured brother's behalf.

Donatello looked at him in surprise but Raphael's attention was focused on Katherine and Leonardo. He felt tears sting his eyes and hope flourish within him as he watched Leonardo begin to stir and respond to her.

The quiet noises Leonardo was making, were no more than whimpers at first and he could see how hard it was for Katherine to see his brother in his current state. Hell, it was hard for all of them, but she managed to keep it together somehow.

It was then that Leonardo began to speak. "B…b-burden…" His brother stammered out in a barely audible whisper.

Katherine ignored Leonardo as she began to rip a strip off of him. She was relentless as she pointed out how Raphael and his brothers felt guilty about Leonardo's suicide attempt.

"F-Failed…" His brother stammered out, tears silently streaming down his cheeks.

"I told you Leonardo, that the world would be a sadder place without you in it. I told you that there was a difference between honour and stupidity." Katherine's voice cracked as she closed her eyes, trying to hold onto her precious anger. She opened her eyes, anger rekindling in her green eyes as she told his brother what she had done to save his life. She pointed out, in a voice that held all of the warmth of the arctic, that she had risked that little girl's life by not killing him.

"Dead..." Leonardo choked out the one word. And this one word made Katherine furious.

"I swear to you Leonardo, if you don't wake the hell up right now. I will never forgive you, _**ever**_. And forever is a very, very long time. I'm still alive and so are you, so wake up, right **NOW**!" She yelled as she struck him hard across the face.

She threatened his brother again as his brother's eyes seemed to finally, slowly focus on her.

"I always knew that you would be an angel." Leonardo said softly as he reached out and grasped a silver curl.

Michelangelo fell to his knees in front of him as Raphael tried hard to control his own legs to keep himself upright as Katherine slid from the bed, Leonardo following her movements with beseeching eyes.

Leonardo paled as his eyes slid over him and his brothers, Leonardo's eyes finally resting back on Katherine.

"It is time to get out of bed Leonardo. You have been lying there long enough." Katherine said as she grabbed a handful of Leonardo's bedding and pulled hard.

Raphael's hand tightened on Donatello's shoulder further, holding him in place as he felt Donatello move to intervene again.

Donatello shot him a withering glare at Raphael, but remained silent.

Leonardo hit the ground with a jarring thud and looked up at Katherine in shock and confusion, then down at his arms. The bandages had been removed but the scarring was still fresh. Leonardo traced the thick line of the fresh scar and looked at Katherine in horror. "K-Katherine?" His brother asked in a soft voice filled with awe and disbelief.

"How could you?" She asked in the barest whisper, the tears she had managed to hold in check until now finally rolled down her pale cheeks.

Leonardo shifted as if he was going to try to stand, but winced in pain, halting his movements.

Michelangelo shakily stood as if he was going to help Leonardo, only Katherine gave Michelangelo a withering glance that had his brother stopping in his tracks before he could go any further.

Katherine turned her attention back to Leonardo, her voice going cold again. "I left you to take care of your brothers, and this is how you shoulder your responsibility, by giving up? You never give up Leonardo. You always fight to the bitter end. You always put your brothers and your family first, so why did you decided to abandon them when they needed you the most?" She asked in a soft voice. "They fought to keep you alive and you repay them, by trying to take your own life?" Katherine shook her head in disgust, turning, wiping away her tears and walking away a few paces. "Stand up Leonardo." She ordered him.

Leonardo continued to stare at her dumbfounded, as if his brain was still unable to process what he was seeing or hearing in front of him.

"I dragged my sorry ass out of a hospital after being in a coma for over three months Leonardo, so you can get your ass up off the ground." She said fiercely.

Leonardo glanced at Raphael and his brothers again and looked at Katherine. "Y...You're alive." Leonardo managed to choke out.

"And by some miracle, so are you." Katherine growled. "So get your ass up off the floor."

"But...it's impossible. You...you can't be alive! The collar, it exploded. I heard you scream." Leonardo said to her in disbelief.

"I removed the collar and I screamed because I tripped over some debris when I ran. Mr. White said the collar came off, and he didn't lie. I took it off. I was lucky, and so were you." Katherine told Leonardo gently.

Leonardo seemed to digest this for a moment and finally shook his head. "I still failed you." He said softly, his eyes welling up with fresh tears.

"I see." Katherine said softly. "Then I am leaving."

Leonardo closed his eyes and nodded slightly. "It is for the best."

Raphael looked at Katherine and Leonardo in growing horror. His hand squeezed Donatello's shoulder hard enough that Donatello hissed in pain._. Katherine couldn't leave. She just got back_. He opened his mouth to tell her this when a hand was clamped over his mouth.

He glanced to the side in shock as he looked at Michelangelo who had a worried yet thoughtful look on his face. Michelangelo gave a slight shake of his head and released his beak.

All emotion was suddenly wiped from Katherine's face, even her eyes. Raphael felt himself swallow with trepidation.

"After all," Katherine continued as if Leonardo hadn't spoken. "I have been able to find Mr. White all on my own. From there it is only a matter of time before I will be able to find The Face." Katherine said smoothly.

Raphael felt the blood drain from his face as his heart began to beat rapidly in his chest. _No_. He thought in horror.

Leonardo's head shot up, his eyes widening in surprise. "You…" Then Leonardo closed his eyes shaking his head. He opened them slowly and looked at her. "I failed you Katherine, even though you are alive, I still failed in my duty to protect you. I cannot ever ask for your forgiveness, and I don't want to. You don't know where Mr. White is. I will call your bluff, you can't lie to me, I know you too well. The best place for you is to be away from us and away from here."

Katherine walked over to Leonardo and knelt down in front of him, pulling a thick piece of paper from her back pocket. She unfolded it and laid it in front of him.

"I never lie Leonardo, you should know me better than that." She hissed softly as she stood.

Katherine closed her eyes and wavered slightly on her feet before regaining her balance. Raphael frowned in worry at her unsteadiness.

Leonardo looked at the photograph with growing horror. "You can even see his tattoo, the spider on his left hand." Katherine pointed out as she turned.

"You…you can't." Leonardo whispered growing dismay.

"Then I guess you had better stop me, and the only way you can do that, is if you stand up." She said harshly over her shoulder.

"Katherine…" Leonardo pleaded.

"Stand up Leonardo." Katherine snapped.

Leonardo looked at her, determination filling his eyes.

Raphael closed his eyes against the sight, because if he didn't, he was going to break down and start to cry. The spark that now resided in Leonardo's eyes had been absent from the moment his brother opened his eyes after the building had blown up, and Katherine had managed to put that spark back where he and his brothers had failed to.

Donatello shrugged his now relaxed hand off his sore shoulder but remained quiet. He could see that Donatello was worried, but was letting Katherine battle wills with Leonardo in peace, at least for the moment.

Leonardo flung an arm up onto the bed. He winced in pain but managed to haul his sheet and himself up with his good leg, and onto the bed's surface.

Just this effort alone seemed to drain his brother of all of his strength, and even though he was sweating and shaking, Leonardo seemed determined to stand, one way or another.

"Leo…"Donatello began but Raphael clamped a hand over his brother's mouth. If Leonardo heard Donatello at all, he didn't give any indication that he had. All of Leonardo's focus was upon Katherine, and Leonardo was beginning to get angry.

_Good._ Raphael thought smugly. Leonardo angry was at least _something_.

"Why can't you just stay out of danger?" Leonardo asked. "Everyone thinks you are dead, they will never bother you again. Why? Why come back? Revenge isn't like you Katherine."

"The old Katherine never saw a man put a gun to a child's head and ask her to shoot the man she loves. I do not make idle threats Leonardo. I made a promise to Mr. White and I intend to keep it, so you are either with me or you stay here, wallowing in your misery." Katherine said with a hint of challenge in her voice.

"I can't fight." Leonardo said, his voice losing its anger, the light of determination slowly vanishing from his eyes.

"Neither can I. What is your point?" She asked him with a tilt of her head.

"I failed you too many times." Leonardo said in a barely audible whisper. "How can you ever want me by your side? How can you ever trust me to not fail you again?"

"Failure is always a possibility Leonardo. It is how you deal with that failure that is the true measure of your defeat. If you give up, then you really are beaten, wholly and completely. If you try again and fight back, then you are giving yourself another chance for victory." Katherine said softly. "Prove to me that you are not a coward."

Leonardo flinched at her words, and even Raphael had to restrain a wince.

Leonardo's eyes narrowed dangerously in anger. "This is not the first time you have called me a coward Katherine. But it will be the last time."

"And was I ever wrong?" She asked. "You were running away then, and you are running away now. Aren't you tired of running? I know I sure am." Katherine challenged as a cord of steel threaded through her words.

Leonardo glared at her furiously as he shakily tried to stand again. Raphael grabbed Donatello around the shoulders and covered his brother's mouth with his hand while Michelangelo held Donatello still with an arm around his waist. Donatello tried to protest, but was muffled by Raphael's hand.

"Quiet Donny." Raphael hissed softly as he let go of his brother's beak.

"He could hurt himself." Donatello protested softly.

"If he hurts himself this time, at least it will be for something important." Raphael replied quietly.

Donatello clenched his teeth together in frustration but gave a curt nod of acknowledgement.

Leonardo finally made it upright, standing straight and proud as an angry fire burned brightly in his brother's eyes.

Katherine strode up to Leonardo and wrapped her arms around him bringing him close to her. Leonardo closed his eyes and wrapped his arms tightly around her sagging against her in relief.

She helped lower him down until he was sitting on the bed again.

Katherine looked over her shoulder at Raphael. She reached out a hand and Raphael walked towards her, Donatello and Michelangelo following. He wrapped both his brother and Katherine in his arms and fought not to weep, but lost the battle as tears wet his cheeks anyway.

He felt both Donatello and Michelangelo wrap their arms around him and they were all silent for a moment.

"I would like to talk to Leonardo alone, if that is okay?" Katherine's soft voice asked.

Raphael nodded and stepped away, Michelangelo and Donatello stepping back as well.

"We will talk later Raphael." Katherine promised gently.

Raphael nodded again and turned, leaving Katherine with his big brother. He turned and scanned the doorway and found that Barry was gone.

Raphael made his way down to the main floor looking for Barry and wondering if he had left. He finally found him sitting on the hood of his Bugatti. He was drinking a beer from Raphael's fridge that was stored in the corner of the garage.

Raphael glanced behind him noticing that neither Michelangelo nor Donatello had followed him. Raphael turned his attention back to Barry.

"Hope you don't mind." Barry said lifting the can slightly.

Raphael walked over to the fridge and grabbed a can of pop. He felt like he needed a drink, but he didn't want to share a beer with Barry, because he was still pissed off at him. He opened the can of pop and took a swig. "You said you were going to call if anything changed." He began ignoring Barry's question. "So how long has she been awake that she was able to track down Mr. White?" Raphael growled clutching his pop can tightly so he wouldn't deck the guy. "And how could you let her track this guy down, he tried to kill her?" He accused.

Barry looked at him and he took a sip of his beer before answering. "I bought Katherine a villa in Italy." Barry replied. Raphael felt his blood run cold as Barry continued. "I gave her money, a new identity and a chance to start over."

Raphael nodded. It was for the best. She had come back to say goodbye. He was thankful for that much he supposed. Her leaving would break his heart, but at least she would be safe.

"You had better keep her safe." Raphael growled at him.

"I'm sorry to hear about your brother, and I am glad that he is alive. I didn't realize that by maintaining radio silence that your brother would take his life because you all thought she was dead." Barry said softly. "Is he really so obsessed with her that his own life isn't worth living if she was gone?"

Raphael studied the man who wanted to take Katherine as far away from danger as he possibly could. Raphael sighed and walked over to his bike. He leaned against the seat and took a swig of pop before answering. "We didn't think she was dead. Just Leo did. And it's not like that. I mean, Leo loves her with everything that he is, but…" Raphael waved his hand around as he tried to explain the way his brother thought. "Katherine is his princess."

Barry frowned. "I would think that every man would want to treat the woman he loves like a queen."

Raphael waved Barry's observation away. "Not that kind of princess. I mean like an actual Japanese feudal princess, and he is her sworn ninja protector. He doesn't think he deserves her. He thinks that she is so far above him that he really shouldn't be with her, but he loves her too much not to be near her and with her. But he swore he would protect her and never let anything bad happen to her and by letting himself be captured and leaving her unprotected, he failed her completely. It wasn't your fault he thought she was dead; it was his own pigheadedness, and my big mouth. He thought she had died because he couldn't protect her, and the only way he could atone for his failure and satisfy his idea of honour, was to take his own life. Even if she lived and he had known she survived, he may not have tried to kill himself, but he would have left all of us. Exiled himself from his family because he failed the woman 'I love', as if he wasn't worthy to love her. If anything, he deserves her more than me. Leo had a point. If she was so in love with me, why did she fall in love with him?" He asked softly. He blinked as he realized who he was talking to and glared at Barry. He finished off his can of pop and crushed it in his hand, throwing it into the recycle bin.

"Of course Kitten wouldn't stand for Leo leaving. I could talk to him till I was blue in the face and he would never listen to me, or any of us, not when it comes to his honour. But Kitten knew exactly what to say to give Leo back his honour, his purpose, and his mission. She'll never let him go. Ever." Raphael finished softly.

"I won't apologize for not calling you." Barry began quietly. "She was improving, but she was still considered to be in a serious coma. I only wanted what was best for her. You and your brothers are a danger to her safety, and considering the state of your relationship with her, I was not sure if she would ever wish to have any contact with you again after what happened."

Raphael winced, but nodded understandingly. He wished he could be furious with Barry, except he was only looking out for what was best for Katherine. Raphael stomped down on his anger and ran a tired hand over his eyes and down his face.

Barry studied him and continued to talk when Raphael remained silent. "I thought that if I gave her everything she needed to run, that she would, and she did; only she didn't run away. She ran to me for help, not in escaping, but in tracking down the people who tried to kill her, your brother and that little girl. I tried to stop her, believe me I tired, but she was determined to find these people."

Raphael gave a snort and shook his head, giving a slight smile. "Kitten's pretty stubborn. Once she decides to do something there is no stopping her." Raphael said, but lost his smile at his next thought. "Katherine has no sense of self preservation. She will die protecting someone she feels she needs to protect."

Barry nodded. "She told me that she protects what is hers. I didn't really understand what she meant by that. I suppose I think of objects as being mine, this car is mine and Deon is my friend, but I would never consider him 'mine' in any sense. Though I suppose if someone targeted Deon, they would have to go through me first, so I do understand a little bit. And now I think I understand better than I did."

Raphael looked at Barry in confusion, but had a thought. "I once told Katherine that I would like to call her mine, but I didn't mean that I wanted to own her, just that I wanted her to be my girl."

Barry shook his head. "It isn't the same." Barry bent over and placed the empty beer can on the ground and straightened. "I can give her love, money, fancy houses, cars, fly her all over the world, but I can't give her the one thing that you can." Barry said crossing his arms over his chest.

"What a life of danger, hidin', and misery?" Raphael countered bitterly, crossing his own arms over his chest.

Barry shook his head, an answering bitterness rising in his own eyes. "You are a selfish, egotistical, stubborn, narrow minded son of a bitch who uses his anger like a shield to keep everyone out, including your own brothers." Barry accused harshly.

"Don't sugar coat anything to spare my feelings." Raphael replied sarcastically.

"And sarcastic. How could I have forgotten sarcastic?" Barry said throwing up his arms in exasperation. "I couldn't understand what she actually saw in you. Mutant turtle thing aside you are an ass, but I saw the way you look at her, and no man can compete with that." Barry said with frustration. "You don't even know how you look at her, do you?" Barry asked as Raphael shook his head in stunned confusion. "You look at her like she is your entire world. If she vanished from your world, you would live, but you would never move on. She is **IT **for you. There is no one else, and there will never _be_ anyone else. "

"I'm a mutant turtle Barry, of course there is no one else, and there will never be anyone else!" Raphael bit back angrily. "I live in a sewer and am a freak of nature. I have no idea why the hell Katherine actually loves me in the first place." Raphael said with frustration. "And she probably loves my brother more anyways."

Barry shook his head. "That isn't it. There would always be the possibility that there would be another woman out there somewhere, but that doesn't matter, because you have no idea how she looks at you, do you?" Barry questioned. "I have dated more than a few women, and more than a few have said they loved me, but I have never seen one of them look at me the way she looks at you, and your brother."

Raphael opened his mouth but no words came out so he snapped his mouth shut.

"You need Katherine, all of you do." Barry looked at him seriously. "Deon mentioned something to me I think that you should know. He didn't say anything to Katherine, but it has to do with her hair turning silver."

"So?" Raphael asked pushing himself away from his bike. "She was through a lot, her hair changed colour. I don't care."

Barry shook his head. "Even though she was through something extremely traumatic, her hair wouldn't have changed colour. Deon said that is just a myth. The only thing that would have caused her hair to lose its pigment is because of some sort of biological change, like an illness or disease. She gets dizzy if she stands up too fast or changes direction suddenly. The doctors at the hospital were only treating her for the injuries that she suffered, and were not looking for any underlying conditions. Maybe you had better talk to her and ask her if there is a reason she holds so little regard for her own life." Barry said as he walked around to the driver's side of his car, opening it and sliding in.

Raphael felt himself grow pale and his world swam sickeningly around him.

"I'll be in touch, and tell Donny that he can keep the equipment I lent him." Barry said as he closed his door and started up the car. Raphael couldn't even hear the roar of the engine over the sound of his own blood rushing through his ears.

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> looked at the woman he loved and felt nothing but shame. He shifted his gaze and his head away from her as she sat down on the cot next to him. Of course Katherine would never let him avoid her eyes as she gently, but firmly pulled his head back towards her. She rummaged around the table that was next to the cot and began dabbing at his lip. "Hold this." She said as she grabbed a kleenex and dabbed at his nostrils before throwing the bloody kleenex into the garbage can by the bed.

He pulled the cloth away from his lip. He looked at the blood and frowned.

"I didn't mean to hit you quite so hard." Katherine said to him softly. He just nodded and placed the cloth back on his tender mouth.

"They'll never forgive me." Leonardo whispered when Katherine remained quiet.

"Yes, they will. It will take time, but they will forgive you." Katherine replied gently. She looked at him seriously. "You have to promise me." She began. 'If anything ever happens to me, that you will never do this again, or I swear I will haunt you from the afterlife."

"Katherine..." Leonardo began.

"Swear it Leonardo. Swear to me on your honour that you will look after your family no matter what, because you owe them, and you owe me."

Leonardo looked into Katherine's light green eyes and nodded. "I swear." He said solemnly as he looked into the angry eyes of the woman he knew he had failed.

Katherine nodded, her eyes beginning to darken to their normal moss green colour. She took hold of the sheet that he had dragged up with him when he had stood. He had realized that for some reason he was naked and had brought the sheet up to cover himself.

"You have been catatonic for two weeks Leonardo. You are still frail and your leg is still weak, but you will get better, in time." She said as she gently moved the sheet from his injured right leg exposing the inch wide ropey scar that ran the length of his inner thigh.

"How can you..." He began, wondering how she knew he would recover, when she showed him her right hand. The scar from his tanto had faded, but it was still there. "Don't you think I had the same thoughts about my hand. I didn't think that I would ever use it again. But I knew that I wanted to use it again, so I had to believe that my hand would heal. "

He turned his head away from her again, because her belief in him was too humbling. He didn't deserve her. "I will try." He said softly. "You should go to Raph. He needs you right now. After what I put him through..."

"Raphael needs me, and so do you." Katherine said as she turned his head to her, leaned in and kissed him. He tried to pull away, tried to resist, but he couldn't. He never could with her. The moment she touched her lips to his own his resistance crumbled. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer. He never thought he would be able to kiss her, hold her or touch her again. The fact that she was in his arms, soft and warm sent a wave of lust filled need through him.

She finally pulled away and looked at the door to the lab. Donatello strode in, Michelangelo following closely behind.

Donatello walked up to him and knelt down. "Leo, you've probably strained your leg, so you need to take it easy. We will start working with it again tomorrow, okay?" Donatello said softly. "You didn't damage any tendons in your forearms, so you were very lucky, and your neck may be slightly stiff if you try to rotate it."

Leonardo nodded numbly to his younger brother, tears springing to his eyes. "I'm so sorry Donny." He apologized to his brother. Because he knew that Donatello was the one who had the grim, heart wrenching job of trying to save his life.

"Apologize to Raph, and Mikey. I'm not the one who found you first, they did. I didn't get here until after they thought you were dead. Raph actually thought that you had died in his arms because you were in such a deep state of shock that your vitals were practically nonexistent." Donatello said angrily as he stood.

Leonardo flinched, but his eyes strayed to Michelangelo's. His light brown eyes were angry, but filled with concern as well. "I'm sorry Mikey, I just..." He began but Michelangelo shook his head, tears beginning to gently roll down his brother's cheeks.

"Just get better, okay." His brother said as he walked closer and leaned in for a hug. "And don't you ever do that again." Michelangelo said roughly as he hugged Leonardo tighter before pulling away shakily.

"Katherine, I would like to do some blood work on you, if that's okay?" Donatello, requested. "I just want to make sure you are okay." He said with a tinge of worry.

Katherine shrugged as Donatello quickly collected a blood sample from her arm as Leonardo watched in concern. He tried to catch his brother's eye to silently ask him what was wrong, but his brother deftly avoided his anxious gaze.

"Shall we get Leonardo into the tub Michelangelo, maybe Donatello can get him something to eat?" Katherine asked.

Donatello nodded as Michelangelo slid an arm underneath his arm and around his carapace. Katherine did the same "Wh...?" He asked as Katherine wrinkled her nose at him.

"Leonardo I love you, but you stink, like really bad, and you need to brush your teeth. Heave Michelangelo." She said as she and his brother pulled him into a standing position as he quickly tried to cover himself with the sheet that was threatening to fall to the floor.

"Modesty went out the window a long time ago with you bro." Michelangelo said with a hint of a smile as Leonardo found himself cringing but nodded. Katherine reached around and wrapped the sheet more securely around his waist.

"Thank you." He said softly, his face still dark with embarrassment.

Katherine nodded as she and Michelangelo managed to get him into the tub. Michelangelo left the bathroom to grab him some clean clothing as Katherine helped him bathe. Michelangelo returned with sweat pants, underwear and a t-shirt, all belonging to Michelangelo.

"Why did you grab me your clothes Mikey?" Leonardo asked in confusion as Katherine helped him to dry off and get dressed while Michelangelo helped to manoeuvre him.

Katherine and Michelangelo shared a look. "You can go get your stuff if you want." Michelangelo said with a shrug. "We'll take you to your room. Come on Kitten." Michelangelo said as he hauled Leonardo up taking most of his brother's weight off his bad leg.

Katherine slid under his other arm as they walked him from the bathroom, down the hall to his room. Katherine opened his door as he stared at his room in horror. He closed his eyes against the sea of rust coloured blood that lay dried to his floor, bedding, walls and ceiling. It was no wonder Michelangelo hadn't wanted to go into his room. Michelangelo was bad with blood, especially if it was his family's. His brothers finding him awash in bright crimson would have been a horrifying experience for them.

"I'm so sorry Mikey." He apologized to his brother again. He didn't want to go into that room either.

Michelangelo looked at him dully. "Well I figure, you made the mess, you get to clean it up." Michelangelo said deadpan without any trace humour.

Leonardo winced and nodded as Katherine firmly closed the door. Katherine and Michelangelo helped him back down the hall towards the bathroom and into Raphael's room. He looked at Michelangelo in confusion.

"Raph's got the biggest bed and his room is closest to the bathroom." Michelangelo pointed out reasonably as they eased him down onto Raphael's queen sized bed. Raphael was the only one with a queen. Michelangelo had a double and he and Donatello had single beds.

Leonardo opened his mouth to protest when Raphael strode into the room. His brother was agitated and angry.

"Raph I..." Leonardo began. He knew how much Raphael hated it when anyone was in his room, but his brother's gaze only flicked past him, focusing on Katherine.

He strode up to her his hand burying itself into her silver locks as he pulled her towards him, his angry amber eyes searching her calm green gaze.

"Is this why you have no concern for your own safety?" He asked in a low voice as he pulled a silver curl straight. "Barry said this wasn't because of the explosion, that there is something you haven't told us."

Katherine sighed. "I was going to tell you Raphael, but..."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Raphael whispered, worry and sadness replacing his anger.

"It's been a bit busy Raphael." Katherine said to his brother calmly.

"How much longer to you have?" Raphael asked her gently.

"About Four months give or take." She replied softly.

Raphael dropped to his knees as he stared blankly at her as Leonardo looked on in confusion.

"Raph, what is going on?" Leonardo asked in confusion.

"Leonardo I..." She began but was cut off by Raphael who stood and brought her into the circle of his arms.

"I'm sorry Katherine." Raphael said, his eyes brimming with tears. "Is there anything we can do?" Raphael asked softly.

"Well..." Katherine began.

"Raph." Leonardo snapped in frustration. "What's going on?"

Raphael looked at him, his eyes full of grief. "Don't you get it Leo? The reason she doesn't seem to have any regard for her own life is because..." Raphael was unable to continue, but Leonardo suddenly understood with crystal clarity. It was because she knew she didn't have much time left. Katherine was dying.

Leonardo felt himself pale as her words came back to him. _If anything happens to me..._She had said to him.

He turned stricken eyes to his brother.

Katherine looked between himself and Raphael, confusion and hurt beginning to show on her face.

"Katherine." Donatello said as he strode into the room a grim look on his face. "Can I talk to you a moment, in private?" Donatello asked.

Katherine looked at Donatello, a confused frown on her face. "It's okay Donatello. You can tell me in here." Katherine said finally.

Donatello flicked a glance at himself and Raphael. "Why didn't you say anything?" Donatello asked gently.

Katherine looked at Donatello with exasperation. "I didn't know Donatello, I just figured it out myself a little bit ago."

Donatello looked at her grimly approaching her and taking her hand gently. Raphael moved out of the way for Donatello. "You didn't know?" He asked softly.

"No. But I had my suspicions, and then this confirmed it." She said pulling at a silver lock.

Donatello nodded. "It wasn't your fault Katherine."

Katherine frowned at Donatello. "I'm pretty sure it was. At least half my fault."

Donatello looked at her, his face pale and stricken as Leonardo looked on in confused grief.

"A Purple Dragon forced himself on you, that was not your fault." Donatello said harshly.

Leonardo swallowed down his horror as his stomach rolled at Donatello's pronouncement. His eyes flew to Raphael who's look of horror mirrored his own. Michelangelo was looking at Katherine, tears threatening to fall.

Katherine looked at Donatello in confusion. "Donatello..." She began.

Donatello searched her face. "You didn't know." He said with bleak shock. "Katherine," He began, his voice gentling. "It isn't as if it could be Raph or even Leo...It had to be a Purple Dragon, a human." He pronounced, his voice wavering with suppressed emotion..

Katherine shook her head. "Donatello..."

"It's too late to do anything now, you are too far along, but we will help you get through this and anything you need..." Donatello continued cutting her off.

"A purple dragon did not force himself on me." Katherine insisted interrupting Donatello.

"Yes he did Katherine. We can't reproduce with a human. It's impossible." Donatello said with a shake of his head.

Leonardo watched his younger brother and Katherine in confusion as an inkling began to blossom in his mind.

"Impossible Donatello, but not improbable. A Purple Dragon did not force himself on me and I haven't had sex with anyone else."

"Katherine." Donatello said his voice tinged with concerned insistence.

"Do I look eight months pregnant to you? She asked pointing at her midsection.

"You were in a coma..." Donatello began.

"Do the math Donatello. I had my last period in October and then I was feeling nauseous at Thanksgiving, but I didn't get my period in November, I just didn't really notice because I was too busy with planning Thanksgiving dinner and trying to get Leonardo and Raphael to play nice together, and planning for the gala..." Her voice trailed off.

Donatello was silent a moment, his mind furiously calculating as Leonardo looked at Katherine in stunned realization.

Donatello's eyes widened in shock. "You... no... it's...it can't be..." Donatello stammered out stunned.

"What the hell are you two talking about?"Raphael snapped in irritation. "What the hell are you two talking about?"

"Kitten's not dying, she's pregnant," Michelangelo said a smile spreading across his face. "Raph, you're going to be a daddy!"

* * *

><p><strong>Bwahahahahahahaha! I'm sorry I think it's funny.<strong>

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome and encouraged!**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

**A big thank you to Amoraphoenix for beta reading this chapter! and a giant that you to my reviewers chibiwolf33 and mela989898!**

**I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter.**

**A/N spoiler alert (sorta)for anyone who hasn't read Breaking Dawn from the Twilight series. **

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> looked at Katherine in shock at Michelangelo's pronouncement. Katherine looked at Michelangelo in irritation.

"Sorry Kitten, I guess you probably wanted to tell him." Michelangelo apologized sheepishly.

Katherine shook her head back and forth as she sighed tiredly.

"I'm sorry, I just got so excited that it was Raph that knocked you up and not a low life Purple Dragon." Michelangelo said with obvious relief.

"I am not knocked up!" Katherine said offended by the term.

"Congratulations Katherine, Raph." Leonardo said quietly. He felt as if his heart had been ripped from his chest before being cruelly stomped on. Leonardo had never really thought about children, except that he would never have any. But he had secretly always wished and hoped that one day he would be able to mentor a child to some degree, possibly Casey and April's daughter Shadow. But his brother was going to be a father, and he was happy for Raphael, but there was a selfish part of him that wished the child was his, even though he knew that after what he had done, he didn't deserve Katherine, or to be a father.

Raphael stumbled over to Katherine a look on his face that was half horror, half disbelief. "We…you…How?" Raphael stammered as he shook his head incredulous.

"Well," Michelangelo said unable to contain his devious joy, "I'm not an expert or anything, but generally I think it had something to do with notch A going into slot...ouch! Leo!" Michelangelo protested rubbing his side where Leonardo had given him a light cuff, a look of mild surprise on his baby brother's face replacing his joy.

"Donny?" Raphael looked at Donatello desperately.

"Raphael…" Katherine began as Donatello asked her a question.

"I'm due July 31st, at least according to the pregnancy calendar on the internet. They have an app for that you know." Katherine informed them.

"Kitten," Raphael began softly. "You can't be pregnant." Raphael said shaking his head. "We can't…there is no…I'm not father material Katherine." Raphael said as he looked at her desperately.

"Mikey, could you help me up?" Leonardo asked his baby brother. "I think Katherine and Raph need some time to talk."

"You aren't going anywhere." Katherine said to Leonardo and then rounded on Raphael. "And what do you mean you're not 'father material'?" Katherine asked Raphael a hint of anger in her voice.

Leonardo motioned for Michelangelo to come and help him up. Katherine and Raphael needed to talk in private without him.

"Donny are you sure Kitten's really pregnant?" Raphael asked desperately.

"Raphael, you think four pregnancy tests are wrong?" Katherine said with exasperation. "Besides have you looked at my hair?"

Michelangelo put an arm under Leonardo's arm and helped him to stand on shaky legs.

"What does your hair have to do with anything?" Raphael asked her as Leonardo and Michelangelo limped towards the door, but Michelangelo paused.

"Leo you should stay." Donatello said with abstraction.

"It's a Wraith woman curse, as soon as we get pregnant our hair goes white, or grey, or," She pulled a silver curl. "Silver. We lose pigment in our hair. My mom's hair went snow white, not that you would ever know it because she dyes it all the time, but…"

"So that explains your hair." Donatello affirmed.

"Come on Mikey." Leonardo said to his baby brother to get him moving again.

"And how do you think I feel Raphael!" Katherine said as she rounded on his brother. "Do you think that if I ever got pregnant that this would be the way I would have wanted it to happen? If I had kids I wanted to be at least married first!" She said shaking her head.

"I can't marry you Katherine!" Raphael said with frustration.

"You are a reptile, I am a mammal, we weren't supposed to be able to have kids together, but apparently we can!" Katherine shot back. Leonardo and Michelangelo had made it to the door. "But the worst part about this, besides all of it…"

"Leo could be the father." Donatello said thoughtfully as he interrupted Katherine, completely unaware of how his words threw the room's occupants into turmoil.

Leonardo felt shock rocket through him. He turned too quickly forgetting that he was unable to walk or even stand on his own.

Michelangelo barely managed to haul him upright before he landed flat on his face. Leonardo looked at Katherine with utter disbelief and shock. Katherine looked back at him with distressed, angry eyes.

"Katherine?" Raphael asked in a choked whisper.

Katherine just shook her head.

"Katherine," Donatello began, pulling his phone from his pocket. "Based on your due date, your date of conception would be November 11th, so all you have to do is remember if you were with Raph or Leo on that day and we will know who the father is." Donatello said gently.

Leonardo shared a look with Raphael, whose face had paled. Raphael closed his eyes and turned his head away angrily.

Michelangelo looked from Leonardo to Raphael to Katherine and back again. "You guys have to have a schedule of some sort..." Michelangelo said but then his eyes widened. "Unless…" Michelangelo's face broke into a salacious grin."Never thought you two would actually share _together._"

Leonardo felt himself blush heatedly. They did have a schedule. It allowed them to pretend that both of them weren't sharing the same woman.

"Our sex life ain't none of your business Mikey, so get your head outta the gutter." Raphael snarled.

"I was with both of them, I always am." Katherine said softly.

Michelangelo opened his mouth.

"Not at the same time Mikey!" Raphael snapped angrily.

"I am with Raphael in the mornings and Leonardo in the evenings." Katherine continued as if Raphael had not spoken. "So, the date doesn't help."

"So let me get this straight." Raphael said, his voice going dangerously low. "You're tellin' me that not only is my girlfriend pregnant, but the baby could be my brother's?"

"Uh..." Donatello looked at Raphael.

"Girlfriend?" Katherine asked in surprised irritation.

Raphael turned his angry gaze towards Katherine. "Yes, girlfriend." He growled.

"Hey Donny," Michelangelo asked. "Do turtles mate for life?" Michelangelo asked innocently out of the blue.

Donatello turned his attention from Raphael's angry amber gaze and focused on their baby brother. "No Mikey." Donatello began. "In general most turtle species lack even basic social behaviours. They generally don't form any bonds with either their mates or siblings. In fact most female turtles mate with several males so their clutches tend to have several different father's..." Donatello's scientific observations ground to a sudden halt under Raphael's growing fury.

Katherine had placed a hand over her own face and groaned. "Okay Michelangelo, quit making things worse than they already are. Put Leonardo back on the bed please, and then get out."

"I'm not making things worse." Michelangelo protested sullenly as he led Leonardo back to the bed and gently set him down.

"I know what you are trying to do, but you should know that your brother's brains don't work like that, now please get out." Katherine said as she shoved Michelangelo towards the door.

Michelangelo looked at Katherine with hurt in his eyes. "Kitten." He said as he stopped in the doorway.

"I'm not mad at you Michelangelo, just, give us a few minutes okay?" Katherine said as she turned her attention back to Donatello who was studying her, a worried frown on his face. "Donatello, whatever grim pronouncement of doom you have burning on the tip of your tongue can wait for a few minutes. I am so very tired at the moment and I am hanging onto the last shred of my composure. All of my thoughts are jumbled around and I feel like I should be on the cover of The Weekly World News with the headline 'Woman having mutant baby!"

"Chimera." Donatello said softly interrupting Katherine's train of thought again.

Katherine opened her mouth and quickly shut it with a reluctant nod of agreement.

"What?" Raphael asked in angry confusion.

Michelangelo visibly paled. "I thought chimera's were those big two headed lion like monsters with a snake for a tail. Yeah one goat head and one lion head." Michelangelo looked at Katherine's belly in confused horror.

"Well that is true in the mythical sense Mikey," Donatello said with a nod. "It is also a term used to denote a fusion of genetic material that differs biologically, or to put it simply, the mixing of cells from two different species, so in this case human and mutant turtle. Although the term chimera is rather base and can also be used to indicate..."

"Thank you Donatello." Katherine said as she walked over to Donatello and began leading him towards the door as well. "Weren't you supposed to be getting Leonardo something to eat?" She asked as she gave his younger brother a final shove through the door before closing it with relief.

"Raph, please don't kill Leo!" Michelangelo shouted through the door. "We just put him back together!"

Katherine leaned against the door and closed her eyes before opening them again and studying both himself and Raphael.

"I don't care." She said as she walked over to Raphael's dresser and began opening the drawers searching through one before moving on to the next.

Leonardo looked at Katherine in confusion. He felt too overwhelmed to even speak. He glanced at Raphael whose fists were clenched together in white knuckled fury at his side.

"Don't care about what?" Leonardo finally asked softly when Raphael remained oddly silent for once.

"Who the father is." She said as she pulled out a pair of sweat pants and an old t-shirt from Raphael's drawer.

Leonardo felt his eyes widen in shock.

"I mean yes it bothers me that I am now a candidate for the Jerry Springer Show because I just became 'that' woman who has no idea who fathered her child, but at the end of the day that is not my biggest concern." She said as she undid her jeans and let them fall to the floor. "I need to get bigger clothes." She grumbled to herself as she pulled her shirt over her head revealing her rounded belly.

How she had managed to hide the fact that she was pregnant was beyond him. She wasn't huge, but she was obviously pregnant. She pulled Raphael's shirt on and then the sweats that she had picked out. She rolled the sweats down until they sat firmly under her protruding belly.

"Kitten," Raphael began, his anger seemingly to have abated somewhat at the sight of her pregnancy.

"There is nothing we can do." She said focusing her attention on Raphael and himself. "We made this mess together, but I will understand if neither of you feels that you can handle this. I just...I thought you should know." She said quietly, with only a hint of a hitch in her voice.

"You think that I'm just gonna walk away? Or let you walk away?" Raphael asked with surprise that quickly turned to anger again.

"You said it yourself Raphael.' You're not father material' that does not exactly sound promising, and besides, the father could be Leonardo." She added shifting her gaze away from Raphael to himself.

Leonardo opened his mouth to reply.

"And don't you dare tell me that you don't deserve me or this child Leonardo, because if you do I won't hesitate to hit you across the face again." Katherine growled.

Leonardo snapped his mouth shut as shame burned through him.

"This is too messed up." Raphael growled. "My head hurts and I am too pissed off right now. I can't even think straight anymore." Raphael's angry gaze shifted to himself and Leonardo felt himself shifting his gaze away from his brother's accusing amber eyes. "I'm still pissed at you Leo." Raphael continued angrily. "And I ain't even talking about possibly knocking up my girlfriend."

"I am not knocked up! I'm pregnant." Katherine defended angrily. "And I am not your girlfriend."

"Yes you are Kitten." Raphael's angry amber gaze lit upon Katherine again. "The moment you walked back in here and said you were pregnant with possibly my kid you became mine again. You don't have a choice." Raphael's eyes narrowed dangerously, waiting for her to refute his claim.

"Fine, but if I'm yours then Leonardo's mine too." She said crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at Raphael, daring him to say no.

Raphael glared back at her as a growl sounded from deep within his chest. He stalked up to her and Leonardo felt himself shift as if to stand, to stop his brother from possibly hurting Katherine in any way.

Raphael scooped Katherine up gently in his arms. "I can't think right now Kitten. It's too much." Raphael growled softly, his eyes still narrowed in anger. "So I ain't gonna think right now." He said as he began walking from the room with Katherine still in his arms.

"What are you doing?" Katherine asked as she struggled uselessly in Raphael's grip.

"The only thing I can think of where I don't have to think." He said as he stalked across the hall. "I'm borrowing your room Mikey!" Raphael shouted as Leonardo heard a door slam.

"What!" He heard Michelangelo yell. "Raph don't you dare!" Michelangelo's voice became clearer as Leonardo heard the pounding of Michelangelo's feet up the stairs. Leonardo heard Michelangelo's fist bang against his bedroom door. "Awh, come on Raph!" Michelangelo pleaded. "Fine but you are washing my sheets!" Michelangelo said as Leonardo heard Michelangelo's feet retreat down the hall and back to the main floor.

Leonardo stared at the blue scrap of fabric that Katherine had given back to him in the bathroom. He clenched his mask in his hands as he looked down at the clothing that covered his arms, before pulling the fabric up, exposing the fresh, self-inflicted scars.

Donatello's legs suddenly appeared in his line of sight. He hadn't even noticed his brother walking into the room.

Donatello pulled up a chair and sat down in front of him, a warm bowl of broth in his hands. Leonardo looked at his brother a flush of embarrassment and shame clawing its way up across his face.

"Not only did I nearly abandon all of you and Katherine, but also possibly my unborn child." Leonardo said softly. "How can she not hate me Donny?"

Donatello looked at him with dark chestnut eyes."'Probably the same reason we can't hate you Leo." Donatello said as he handed over the broth. Leonardo placed his mask beside him and reluctantly took the bowl, staring at the bland offering for a moment while waiting for Donatello to finish his thought. "She loves you." Donatello said with a shrug.

Leonardo frowned but nodded as he took the spoon and scooped up a little of the broth, managing to put it in his mouth and swallow it down. The room was quiet for a few minutes, both of them lost within their own thoughts. "What was Mikey trying to do?" Leonardo finally asked his silent brother.

Donatello blinked and focused his attention back on Leonardo. "I don't think Mikey actually knew the answer to his question, but he may have. After all, who knows what Mikey stays up half the night watching? He may have watched animal planet a few times and caught a special on turtles, who knows. Katherine seemed to understand where Mikey's brain was going though." Donatello fell into abstraction for a moment. "She's a really smart woman." Donatello said almost under his breath.

Leonardo nodded in agreement as he waited for his brother to continue.

"Mikey was trying to prove a point, which was turtle females are not monogamous by any stretch of the imagination and neither are the males, so you and Raph should have no problem sharing Katherine." Donatello said reasonably.

"But we do Donny." Leonardo said softly.

"You less so than Raph, but yeah, and that is because we have been raised in a human culture, specifically an American one. So even though we are biologically mostly turtle, a tiny percentage of our DNA is human. Also socially we are human, which is why Katherine said your brains don't work like that. We have the ability to reason and love, which makes things...complicated, less biological and more social."

"How wrong is this Donny, and how weird is this for you?" Leonardo asked an almost desperate edge to his voice.

"Are you talking about the pregnancy or your relationship with Kitten?" Donatello asked softly.

"Both." He said without hesitation.

Donatello frowned and contemplated his questions. "I want to talk to all three of you about Katherine's pregnancy when Raph and Kitten are...uh...done." Donatello said as he shifted a little uncomfortably. Leonardo felt another blush creep up his own cheeks at the thought of what was going on next door with Raphael and Katherine, but found that he was not so much jealous as envious at the moment.

"I don't really know what to say Leo. Are you asking my permission, my opinion? It isn't 'wrong'. Biologically it makes perfect sense, two males competing over a biologically compatible female. Also there is no rule that says she has to choose only one of you, most females don't." His brother pointed out.

"Don't give me the biological answer Donny. I want to know what you think!" Leonardo growled in irritation.

"What does it matter what I think Leo?" Donatello asked.

Leonardo turned his head away in shame. "It bothers you." He whispered. He heard Donatello give out a sigh.

"It bothers me because it bothers you." Donatello replied softly. "Is it a little...different, yes. Do I think it's wrong? No. Would it be easier if she chose between you? Yes."

"What am I supposed to do Donny?" He asked his brother desperately. "I don't deserve her, especially after what I did, after everything I have done. I betrayed Raph by trying to steal Katherine away from him in the first place. Then I made his girlfriend fall in love with me and then everything with Hun happened and Raph had to share the woman he loved, his girlfriend with me. He didn't have a choice, not really." He said closing his eyes in regret. "They should have been allowed to start a family together without my interference. And now... I may have got my brother's girlfriend pregnant!" Leonardo said with agonized remorse. "I...how am I supposed to apologize for that?" Leonardo said shaking his head as much as his neck would allow. "How can I ever make this right?" He asked, his thoughts jumbling into a confused, agony filled mass.

"Leo…" Donatello sighed as he took Leonardo's half filled bowl of broth from his shaking grasp.

"I just...Donny...I can't...I..." Searing pain burned across his cheek as he looked at his younger brother in surprise.

Donatello looked down at the hand that he had used to slap Leonardo across the face. "Huh, that felt kind of good." Donatello said with surprise.

Leonardo opened his mouth but no sound came out, so he closed his mouth and stared dumbly at his brother.

"Did you mess up? Yes. But you didn't _make_ Katherine fall in love with you. You can't tell your heart who to love and who not to love, even I get that. It just happens. With Raph having lost his memory and not really being himself he didn't allow himself to tell her he loved her, or let their relationship move forward, which left Katherine's heart unsure, but in the end you both left and you both had to fix it. But then you both made her leave, but now she knows that you both need her."

"It's true Leo." Michelangelo's soft voice came from the doorway. "You two are so messed up right now." He said with a shake of his head. "Raph blames himself for you deciding to be an idiot and trying to do the 'honourable' thing, and you blame yourself for everything that happened. And when Raph starts thinking with his big head again, he is going to think that you need her more than he needs her, because he believes that you are one slice short of a full loaf. That and he thinks he would make a horrible father. So when he comes back in here he is going to tell her to be with you. Then Kitten is going to kick both your asses. Which I think would be really funny, but in her condition..." Michelangelo said finally walking through the doorway and into the room.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> looked down at the woman in his arms. She stared up at him a soft smile on her face as she brought him forward for a gentle kiss. He wanted to pull back and resist her, tell her he had made a mistake and that he was being a selfish ass, again, and for her to be with Leonardo. His big brother needed her. If having her kept his brother from trying to take his own life again, he would let her go, even if she was carrying his child. Raphael knew that Leonardo would make a better father anyways. No matter how much it hurt him to admit this to himself, or how much he wanted to perhaps try to be a father.

Raphael knew himself. He knew that he was too self centered and had too much of a temper to ever be good with a kid.

"Katherine..." He began as something moved against his forearm. He looked down in shock at Katherine's stomach. "Uh...was that?" He asked pointing to her midsection.

Katherine nodded, pulled out of his arms and slid from the bed. "The baby is kicking." She said as she began pulling on her clothes. She threw him his jeans and he began to dress as well.

"It's strange you know?" She began. "I don't know what to feel right now. I woke up and found out I was nearly five months pregnant. It is a rather horrifying thought." She said softly. "I mean I didn't even really get a chance to get used to the idea. All of a sudden I could feel something moving around inside me like some alien being." Katherine looked at him then, when he remained silent, because he didn't know what to say. "I had things to do, I stayed away for two weeks because I was scared. I was scared that for some reason knowing that I was pregnant, you would reject me, which is ridiculous because I know you and I know your brother, but I couldn't help thinking these thoughts and having these feelings."

Raphael brought her into the fold of his arms. "Nothin' would ever let me let you go Kitten." He whispered. Because even though he had just reasoned with himself that Leonardo needed her more, he was still at his core, a selfish bastard, and he needed her as much as he wanted her. He gently brushed a hand over her swollen belly and felt the baby move under it. He found the movement oddly disturbing. He didn't really know what emotion to feel. He had never once wanted to touch April's belly and had to be forced to hold Shadow. But the possibility that now his child was moving under his hand, carried by the woman he loved sent a surge of possessiveness through him.

She finally pulled away and nodded. "I need to get some sleep." She said quietly. "I'm tired."

Raphael nodded as he pulled her into him as they walked from the room, across the hall and into his bedroom where he found Leonardo still sitting on the bed. Donatello was sitting in a chair in front of his older brother and Michelangelo was leaning against his dresser. The room was oddly still and quiet as if whatever his brothers had been discussing, they hadn't wanted Katherine and himself to hear. Michelangelo looked at Raphael and pushed himself away from the dresser and walked over to Katherine.

Michelangelo pulled Katherine from Raphael's grip and pulled her gently into his arms. Raphael blinked in shock as Michelangelo buried his face in Katherine's neck.

Raphael looked at Donatello's grim face as well as Leonardo's pale one. Not that Leonardo was looking any better than he had been a few hours ago, but his skin had taken on a new waxy appearance.

"You're going to be fine Kitten." Michelangelo whispered just loud enough for Raphael to hear.

"Donatello," Katherine said in an irritated voice. "I told you to keep your grim pronouncements to yourself for a few minutes, was that too much to ask?" She asked.

"I'm sorry Kitten." Donatello said avoiding her eyes as she pulled out of Michelangelo's grip and went to sit beside Leonardo on the bed.

"Did Leonardo eat?" Katherine asked as Raphael looked around the room at his brother's concerned faces in confusion.

"Yes" Donatello said as he nodded. Michelangelo sat down on the bed next to Katherine and took her hand in his own.

Raphael frowned harder at his youngest brother's sudden affection, but crossed his arms over his chest instead of saying something to his baby brother that he may regret later.

"Proceed with your doom and gloom Donatello." She said to his genius brother.

Donatello looked over his shoulder at Raphael. "You better have a seat Raph." Donatello indicating the bed.

Raphael was about to say no, but changed his mind as he walked over to the bed and had a seat beside Leonardo. "What's going on Donny?"

Donatello rubbed a tired hand across his eyes.

"I have read Twilight you know." Katherine put in.

Donatello frowned in confusion. "I don't..." Donatello said shaking his head in confusion.

"Spoiler alert, Bella dies at the end." Michelangelo said miserably.

"Huh?" Raphael said in equal confusion.

"Michelangelo." Katherine said with a warning in her voice.

"It's true Kitten. Bella gets pregnant with her human vampire hybrid baby and she dies trying to give birth." Michelangelo said desperately.

"Okay..." Donatello said giving Michelangelo a quelling glare. "And now we are back to reality Mikey." Donatello said as he looked between Raphael, Leonardo and Katherine.

"I don't get it." Raphael said still confused.

"Katherine could die." Leonardo said miserably.

Donatello glared at Leonardo.

"**What?**!" Raphael shouted as he felt himself pale.

Katherine just shook her head and sighed. "I know Donatello."

"Katherine." Donatello reached out and took her hands in his own. "You are human, but the child is not. I can't be certain that everything will be okay. I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you were able to get pregnant in the first place. But yes. It is possible that you may not even be able to give birth naturally. The baby may be too big, or any number of other factors that could occur. I have to assume so many things and I don't like assuming, or theorizing on this. I know you are late into your second trimester, if we go by human gestation, but there is still the possibility that you could lose the baby to a multitude of complications. Also it is possible that even if you are able to carry this child to full term, it may be stillborn or...disfigured."

"Donatello." Katherine interrupted him. "I know. But you have to remember, that every single pregnancy is like that. Even a human pregnancy has risks to both mother and child. The only thing we can do is wait and see." She replied calmly.

Raphael reached over Leonardo and turned Katherine's face towards him, his heart filled with dread. Katherine's eyes were blue-green with sadness and worry, but they quickly turned back to their normal moss green colour, making him think that he had imagined the emotions he had seen within.

Raphael looked at Donatello, hoping his brother would tell him that everything was going to be okay, but his younger brother remained disturbingly quiet to his pleading eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts and opinions are always welcomed and highly encouraged! =)<strong>


	21. Chapter 21

**To Amoraphoenix many thank as always for beta readng this chapter! and thank you to my reviewers Chibiwolf33, Kaaayyytteee, Dondena, mela989898 and Hellgirl-fan1!**

**Please enjoy this next chapter and thank you so much for reading!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 21<span>

**Katherine** swallowed a lump in her throat as all of the men looked at her with apprehension and worry. It didn't matter that she was scared to death and wholly incapable of dealing with the emotional turmoil that raged and washed through her. If she worried, then the men would all worry.

It was easy to think of it rationally, another to put thought into action. Having them look at her like she had one foot in the grave already made her want to burst into tears, which was ridiculous. It was like being on the verge of tears and being able to blink them back until someone decided to give you a hug and then all the blinking in the world would not push back those tears.

She did the next best thing she could and glared at Donatello instead. It was going to be a very long four months if she was going to have to deal with all of them looking and watching her with worry.

"Tell me I am wrong Donatello." She said to him without a waver in her voice. "Tell me I am wrong about the risks for every pregnancy."

Donatello frowned in contemplation of her statement. "You are not wrong." Donatello said slowly. It is possible that this pregnancy will be without complications." He finally acceded. Katherine let out a relieved breath and she felt Raphael, Leonardo and Michelangelo relax slightly. "I have an old ultrasound machine. The picture quality is not the best, but it will at least give me some idea of what is going on. But I will do everything I can to make sure that you are healthy. I want to do a complete check up on you tomorrow." He said sternly, as if she was going to object.

She shrugged her acquiescence as Donatello continued to talk. "There are a lot of things about our mutation that are still a mystery to me. Perhaps the contact we had with humans before we were mutated affected our DNA even more profoundly than I first suspected. Although it is possible that you have some sort of genetic abnormality as well that allowed you to get pregnant in the first place." Donatello said thoughtfully. "The fact that your body was able to go through the trauma inflicted when the bomb exploded and still maintain the pregnancy is a positive indicator that this pregnancy may go through to full term." Donatello said encouragingly.

The thick silence in the room suddenly became oppressive as Donatello frowned in confusion over why his words had suddenly caused an instant negative reaction with his brothers and Katherine.

Raphael was the first to recover as his voice rang out angrily in the quiet of the room."You're saying that that bastard Mr. White tried to kill Kitten when she was pregnant?" He hissed.

Katherine closed her eyes in frustration as she glared at Donatello again. Donatello was obviously amazed at his brother's lack of math skills and the logical conclusion that she had been involved in the explosion two weeks_ after_ she had broken up with Raphael and Leonardo, so of course was pregnant when she was blown up.

A low growl was sounding deep within Raphael's chest and was being echoed in Leonardo's.

"Okay, there is a little too much testosterone being thrown around in here for me." Katherine said as she stood up, removing Donatello's grip from her hands. "I get it, but right now we can't do anything about Mr. White or The Face. Besides I have more pressing concerns."

"Katherine..." Leonardo' voice was thick and low with repressed rage.

"I have to call my mother, which I really, really don't want to do, but I figure I have been avoiding telling her for the past two weeks so I had better get it over and done with." She said her shoulders slumping slightly in defeat. "And then I am going to bed." She ran a tired hand through her short locks. She pulled down a silver curl and sighed, letting it bounce back into place. "So if you guys will excuse me." She said as she snagged her phone from her jeans pocket. "I'm borrowing your room Michelangelo." She said as she walked from the room and across the hall, closing and locking Michelangelo's door behind her.

She looked at the cell Barry had given her as she sat on Michelangelo's rumpled bed, ignoring the pounding on the door. "Go away Raphael," She said instantly recognizing the insistent knocking even though the owner of the angry fist pounding at the door never said a word. "Or I will make _you_ tell my mom that you got me pregnant!" She shouted at the door. The pounding stopped abruptly and Katherine had to repress a chuckle, but turned serious again. This phone call was going to be disastrous. She cringed inwardly. "Hi mom, I'm pregnant with my ex-boyfriend's mutant baby. And I don't know who the father is." She said to herself quietly. "This is going to go over really well" She grumbled as she dialled her mother's phone number. Though she supposed Raphael was her boyfriend again and so was Leonardo...sorta, they hadn't exactly ironed out those details yet. And this did not make the situation any better.

"Hello Dear." Her mother's pleasant voice chirped on the other end of the phone line. She had of course talked to her mother a couple times since she had woken up from her coma, but she had managed to avoid telling her mother anything really important.

"Hey mom." She said softly.

"So how are things with Barry, you two made it official yet?" Her mother asked, jumping right into the conversation. No peasantries for her. No, How are you? Or how's the weather? No her mother leapt straight for the juicy, meaty center.

"I'm pregnant." She blurted out ignoring her mother's question.

The line was silent for a moment. "I suspect it is a little too soon to say that it is Barry's." Her mother observed, her voice lowering with displeasure.

"It's not Barry's" She confirmed but found that she couldn't continue because she felt as if she had disappointed her mother. And she had never ever wanted to disappoint her mother. She felt tears prick her eyes.

"Katherine, what did I tell you? How many times did I tell you to use protection! Kids these days." Her mother grumbled. "What is the point of sex ed if you aren't going to pay attention?"  
>"I didn't think I could get pregnant!" She defended.<br>"What did I tell you about the power of a man's swimmers?" Katherine's mother sighed dramatically. "At least tell me that it was that blue one who knocked you up."

Katherine remained silent because she didn't really know how to tell her mother that she didn't know. It just sounded bad, even though it was true.  
>"Great, Mr. personality knocked you up?" Katherine's mom moaned in derision .<p>

Katherine remained silent as she shook her head, completely forgetting that her mother couldn't see her, which she was thankful for because she would be a big mass of tear-stained misery if she actually had to look at the disappointment on her mother's face.

"Orange, purple? What colour combination of the rainbow was it, come on Katherine!"  
>"I don't know!" She finally was able to choke out. She took a breath and continued. "And I am not knocked up!" She protested.<br>"Katherine, this is not the musical production of Mama Mia!. Though I suppose that was a choice of three fathers, not four." Katherine's mother murmured.  
>"Mom! I never had sex with Michelangelo or Donatello." Katharine said with irritation.<br>"Oh, so that makes it better? You have the choice of only two possible fathers, instead of four? You are right, much better!" Her mother paused before continuing. "And you are knocked up."

"I'm not knocked up!"

"Are you married?" Her mother asked.

"No, but..."

Her mother overrode her protest. "Are you engaged to be married?"

"No..."

"Did you plan this pregnancy?" Her mother continued as if she hadn't spoken.

"Of course not!"

"Then you are knocked up." Her mother put in flatly.

"Mom." Katherine clenched her teeth together in frustration. "I didn't mean for this to happen. And if I could get married I would, but I can't."

"Never say never Katherine. I'm sure Barry would still marry you."  
>"Mom." She protested angrily.<br>"And my first grandchild is going to be some half human half turtle hybrid." Katherine's mother sighed dramatically. "You know Katherine when I said you should have a child this isn't quite what I meant. But I suppose I should take some responsibility for putting the thought in your head."  
>"What?" Katherine asked in confusion, her anger dying slightly.<br>"Never underestimate the power of a _want_ dear."  
>"What?"<br>"I told you I wanted grandchildren and your clock started ticking. I can take the blame for that."  
>"What clock! There was no clock!" She protested.<br>"Oh well, pregnancy is a miserable thing Dear. My poor hair. On the other hand I got a great set of boobs and hips out of it so I suppose it wasn't all bad." Katherine's mother said thoughtfully.

Katherine felt her shoulders slump as she let out a breath of defeat. At least her mother hadn't yelled at her or disowned her, so that was something.

"Mom," She took a deep breath. "I'm scared." She finished in a soft slightly pathetic sounding voice.

Her mother was silent for a moment. "I know Dear, and it will just get worse. When are you due?" Her mother asked. She told her mother her due date. "Summertime is the worst. You will feel like you are baking from the inside out." Her mother said helpfully. "Listen Sweetheart. I need to stay where I am to allow your little ruse to continue, so I can't be there for you." Her mother said softly.

"I know." She said in a choked voice.

"Where are Red and Blue? Are they planning on sticking around?" Her mother asked as she nodded into the phone, realized her mother couldn't see her and responded with a weak "Yes."

"What do they think?" Her mother asked.

"I think they are too worried to be anything other than terrified." She said softly as she wiped away her tears and curled into a ball on Michelangelo's bed.

"Terrified isn't a bad start." Her mother said with a reluctant sniff. Her mother sighed and then began speaking again. "Donatello is a smart...man, and he will be as good as any human doctor and Red and Blue are going to be there with you and so will Orange. In fact Orange will probably be more helpful than the two hotheads you fell for." Her mother grumbled before continuing. "Lean on them Sweetheart, you will need them, but call April. She's had a child and will know better than anyone what you will be going through and what to expect since I won't be able to be there for you. Have her in the delivery room, she will be better able to talk you through everything than Purple."

"I don't think..." She began.

Katherine," Her mother interrupted. 'Trust me. When the time comes you won't care if there is an entire football team watching what is going on, just make sure Purple gives you some good drugs, or if that isn't an option...well Dear, if you have ever wondered what it was like in ancient times when women delivered babies without drugs, well you are about to find out, so think of it like an anthropological experiment."

"Gee thanks." She said softly but did appreciate her mother's advice.

"You will be fine Dear, and I am sure the baby will be fine. There is no point in believing that things will not work out, instead believe that they will. If it is meant to be it is meant to be. Pick names, decorate the baby's room, by furniture and clothing. Enjoy the thought that you will be bringing new life into this world, or if that doesn't do it for you, think about the fact that you will get to be a MILF."

"A MILF?" Katherine asked in confusion.

"It is a rather crude achronim, men like throwing around. It means Mother I'd like to F..."

"Okay I get it!" She said cutting her mother off. "I'll call you." She promised.

"I know you will." Her mother chirped happily. "And Dear, if you really want something, go out and get it. If there was one thing I hope I ever managed to teach you, it was not to ever give up on what you want. Just because it doesn't make sense or because someone tells you you can't, doesn't mean you have to listen."

"I know." Katherine agreed with her mother.

Her mother paused for a moment before she spoke, her voice turning serious. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Her mother asked her, and Katherine knew she was no longer talking about her pregnancy or her relationship with Leonardo and Raphael.

"Yes." She agreed.

"So many things could go wrong." Her mother warned.

"I know, but I have to do this. I need to be...free." She asserted.

"Okay, call me soon Dear. And I will tell your Uncle and his new wife hello for you."

Katherine frowned. "What happened to that 'gold digging hussy?" Katherine wondered.

"The woman is 80 years old. I don't think she will be having many children or sticking around for too long. How very unlike your Uncle to actually marry a woman his own age. That and your Uncle reassured me that the Wraith wealth will go to you and any children that you have." Her mother informed her happily.

"That could get very complicated." She said with a frown.

"Don't worry about it Dear. Your Uncle is working out all of the details. He thinks that you are having quite the lark by the way."

"Quite the lark? Oh yes it has been so much fun being blown up and nearly killed." She grumbled in disbelief.

"No, no, not that part. Of course your uncle is quite concerned for your safety. I am talking about your lovers Dear. If he wasn't so busy gallivanting around the world on his honeymoon, he would no doubt be avidly studying your interactions with you lovers and their family to glean a better understanding of human non-human interactions."

Katherine sat up groaned and covered her eyes with her free hand. "You told uncle Carin that Leonardo and Raphael weren't human?" She asked in disbelief.

"Of course Dear, and I showed him the pictures."

"Pictures, what pictures?" She asked in growing horror.

"The ones I took at Thanksgiving. Anyway he was quite excited, but I have sworn him to secrecy, so don't worry Dear. Though I also showed your stepfather and your step-brothers..."Her mother continued thoughtfully. "I couldn't very well not tell them now could I?" Her mother asked.

"Okay but don't tell anyone else. It won't work otherwise." She growled.

"I won't Dear. Now get some rest." Her mother said with a smile in her voice. "Oh and one more thing, just because you are eating for two, doesn't mean you are actually eating for two. If you do you will end up looking like a blimp." Her mother warned. "Also lay on your side not your back or stomach, and if you are going to have sex, you get to be on top from now on. Another good position is..."

"Thanks mom." She said cutting her mother off before she really go going. "I love you and I will call you later."

"Okay, I love you too Dear." Her mother said as she hung up the phone.

Katherine lay back down and curled into a ball on her side. She appreciated her mother trying to distract her, but it didn't help. All of her worries and insecurities began to slowly trickle back into her mind.

She closed her eyes as she felt the first tear trickle unabated down her cheek. The first tear was slowly followed by more until she had to bury her face in the pillow to contain her choking sobs.

Seeing Leonardo a broken, skeletal figure had broken something within her. She didn't know what had been broken, and she knew she would figure it out one day, but for now she didn't want to examine it too closely.

But even worse than seeing Leonardo's wretched figure, was seeing the guilt wracked face of Raphael. Raphael believed that he had caused Leonardo's condition as well as the actions that Leonardo had taken because of what Leonardo had believed because of what Raphael had said. And although for the moment both Leonardo and Raphael had momentarily forgotten both their actions and their guilt, she knew that it would resurface again unless it was dealt with. But not today.

She wiped at the tears that continued to fall as her mind turned back to her pregnancy. She was scared. What woman wasn't really? _I am being perfectly normal and rational_. She thought to herself.

She felt the baby shift and move inside her. She opened her eyes and looked at the phone that was still clutched in her hand. She scrolled through her numbers and dialled April's number.

April answered the phone. There was a ton of confusion, fussing and Shadow wailing in the background.

"Hi April." Katherine said trying to talk over the din so that April could actually hear her. "Could you and Casey come to the lair tomorrow?" She asked as April gave a surprised exclamation.

"Just be careful and we will have a nice long chat tomorrow okay?" Katherine affirmed and let her friend get back to her teething baby.

Katherine ran a hand over her belly. "I am so not ready for this." She murmured softly as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> paced outside of Michelangelo's door like an angry tiger.

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor Raph." Michelangelo pointed out as Raphael continued to pace in agitation.

"I'm worried Mikey. She's been in there for over an hour." He growled as he finally forced himself to stop.

"Raph, she's talking with her mom. Have you ever noticed how women talk on the phone? They can do that for hours. I'm pretty sure that this is very difficult for Katherine. And besides, we have no idea how Katherine's mom is going to take Katherine being pregnant period, let alone with a mutant baby." His brother pointed out helpfully.

Raphael was about to give his brother a scathing remark but managed to bite it back when he realized that Michelangelo wasn't joking for once, but telling him the blunt truth instead. Raphael let out a frustrated breath and nodded.

"But I think it's time you manned up and accepted responsibility." Michelangelo said softly, but with an edge of steel in his voice.

He glared at his brother and clenched his fists together angrily. "I am manning up Mikey." He said bitingly. "I told her I wasn't going to let her go and we are together now."

"And what if the baby is Leo's?" His brother asked as Raphael visibly flinched at the idea.

"I don't know Mikey." Raphael replied softly because he didn't know. If the baby was his brother's, he supposed he should be happy for Leonardo. His brother deserved and wanted a family, they all did at some level. But he had seen the want flare in Leonardo's eyes when Katherine had said she was pregnant. At the same time he wanted for the baby to be his, because he wanted to know if he _could_ be a father. He wanted to be the one who gave Katherine a child, because then she would look at him and know that he was her mate, not his brother.

"Will you love her any less?" Michelangelo questioned.

Raphael looked at his brother in disbelief. "Of course not Mikey, but if the baby is Leo's, then...then she is Leo's." He replied softly, his voice breaking slightly at the devastating idea.

Michelangelo opened his mouth, then thought better of what he was going to say and shut his mouth with a snap. He seemed to think for a moment before speaking again. "So you think that whoever is the father of the baby automatically gets Katherine?" He questioned.

"Of course I do Mikey. Whoever is the father is the father of _her _kid. They will be a family and there will be no room for anyone else." Raphael said to him with a waver of raw emotion in his voice.

Michelangelo seemed to think this over. "It isn't a competition bro, and if you think of it like one Kitten will kick both your asses." Michelangelo said to him seriously. "But, when I said that you were going to have to man up, that isn't quite what I meant, although I suppose it's good that you are actually using your head instead of your fists for once." Raphael glared at his brother but Michelangelo continued to talk. "What I meant was that we, and I mean all of us, have got to stand on our own two feet from now on."

Raphael frowned at his brother in confusion. "What do you mean Mikey?" He asked with only a slight edge of irritation in his voice.

"I mean that we are always depending on everyone else. First it was Master Splinter, then Leo now Kitten. We always depend on everyone else except ourselves. It isn't a bad thing to depend on someone, but we have all begun to depend on Kitten and that isn't fair to her. Even Leo depends on her, and it isn't right. She needs to know that _she_ can depend on_ us_ not to let her fall. That she doesn't have to pretend to be so strong all the time, and that it is okay to be scared or worried or confused. She saw how worried we were and she clamped down on all of her emotions so that we wouldn't see how worried and scared she was. Because she is trying to protect us and to make_ us_ feel better, when it is_ her_ life and _her_ future on the line."

Raphael continued to frown at his brother. Michelangelo was making sense, but he wasn't sure what he wanted Raphael to do to change anything. Katherine was Katherine. If you tried to coddle or protect her too much she would just lash out, or get oddly cold and silent, which was worse. He said as much to his brother.

Michelangelo put a hand on Raphael's shoulder. "What I mean Raph, is that you have to not let your worry get the better of you. Don't show her how worried you are, pretend that everything is going to be fine. Act excited. Be happy that you get the chance to be a part of something that is so amazing." Michelangelo took a breath and continued when Raphael remained silent because he was too stunned to talk. "I'm worried Raph. There are too many things that _could_ go wrong, but I know that Kitten could also be right. April was fine and Kitten can be too." Michelangelo said as he gave Raphael's shoulder a comforting squeeze, as he began walking down the hall. Raphael frowned at his brother's retreating back. There had been something in his brother's voice that he was trying to figure out. It was almost as if his brother was...jealous? No that wasn't the right word, but maybe something like jealous, envious maybe? Of course whatever emotion it was, it was tinged with worry.

Raphael looked at the door in front of him. He walked over and slid down the wood's warm surface until he was sitting on the cold stone floor.

Leonardo was sleeping in his bed. Raphael's eyes flicked to Leonardo's bedroom door and repressed a shudder. Of course it wasn't as if Leonardo could sleep in his own room, and Michelangelo was right. Raphael's bedroom was closest to the bathroom and since they were going to have to help Leonardo get to the bathroom and back, it was the best place for him.

Leonardo had fought to stay awake, but he was still pretty weak and had basically finally just passed out. Donatello was down in his lab fiddling with Katherine's blood sample and running it again to check for anything abnormal.

He thought over Michelangelo's words as he stood and walked down the hall and into his bedroom. Leonardo was sleeping soundly. Of course his brother still looked like Hell, they all did. He looked towards the doorway in the direction of Michelangelo's room. _What must it have been like for Katherine?_ He wondered. She woke up from a coma and found out she was four to five months pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's baby. She didn't know who the father was and when she finally came to the lair she found Leonardo in a suicide induced catatonic state and he, Michelangelo and Donatello looking like death warmed over. And they had all plead with beseeching eyes for her to fix it; fix everything and make it right.

Raphael closed his eyes in shame. Michelangelo was right. They had offered her no support, nothing. Just four brothers looking at her and hoping that she knew how to make it all better, even though she was probably overwhelmed and terrified herself. And she had had fixed everything. She woke Leonardo up, absolved Leonardo of his guilt over trying to commit an "honourable" suicide, absolved Raphael of his guilt over what his big mouth had caused Leonardo to do, and calmed all of their fears about her pregnancy.

"Mikey's right Leo. We are asses, all of us. And we don't deserve her. But maybe we can make it up to her. I'll try not to fight with you Leo. I know that until the baby is born we will have to share her again. It's only fair I guess, because the last thing she has to worry about is me and you fighting over her. I know I've tried it before and I didn't like it. I hated it. But you need her, and I'm too selfish to let her go unless she tells me to get lost. Even then I don't know if I'd go. Maybe if she told me she didn't love me, then I'd be able to walk away, but until she does that I guess I will try to 'man up' and start standing on my own two feet." Raphael whispered gruffly to his sleeping brother.

"Come on Raph." Michelangelo said quietly as he poked his head through the doorway. Raphael walked across and down the hall to Michelangelo's bedroom. "It's quiet." Michelangelo said as he stuck a piece of metal into the doorknob and turned, opening the door.

Michelangelo peeked his head into his room and walked in, Raphael followed. Katherine lay on the bed sleeping soundly, a cell phone clutched in her hand. Michelangelo quietly sat down on the bed and covered her up with the blanket as he carefully pulled the phone from her hand and placed it on the nightstand. His brother brushed a stray curl from her forehead. It wasn't long enough to tuck behind her ears yet, but it was getting there.

Raphael briefly wondered how Katherine felt about her hair now that it was short and a completely different colour, but decided that knowing her, she didn't care.

"She must be exhausted." Michelangelo whispered softly.

Raphael's eyes narrowed as he watched his brother and then widened in sudden understanding.

"You love her. As in, you are_ in_ love with her." Raphael accused without any heat in his voice.

Michelangelo froze. He didn't agree with or deny his observation.

Raphael felt stunned. He knew his brother had strong feelings for Katherine, but he hadn't thought that they had grown any deeper, but obviously they had. "Mikey..." Raphael began before Michelangelo cut him off.

"She doesn't feel that way about me Raph, and I'm okay with that. I just want her to be happy. If she is happy with you or Leo or both of you, it's enough for me."

"Mikey..."

Michelangelo faced him then. He had a gentle smile on his face. "I'm telling you the truth Raph. Don't worry about me. I think there is a woman out there for me, and one day, I'll find her." Michelangelo brushed back another silver curl as he smiled more broadly. "She's too much for me to handle. I'd spend my entire life being scared to death that she was going to do something insane. You and Leo are better at handling that sort of stuff than I am." Michelangelo said with a chuckle.

Raphael had to grin slightly because he knew his baby brother was right. That particular personality trait drove him nuts, but he supposed it was one of the things he loved about her. She kept him thinking and on his toes. In fact when he was around her, he didn't feel like the one that was more brawn than brains, and he appreciated that.

"I don't want to move her." Michelangelo said as he finally stood. "There is something about pregnant women that makes them more...delicate somehow. In fact I'm surprise you picked her up." Michelangelo observed. "Actually I'm surprised you were actually brave enough to..."

Raphael cut his brother or with a hastily inserted. "I wasn't." He said with embarrassment.

Michelangelo lifted a surprised eye ridge. "Don't get me wrong Mikey. I was going to, and I wanted to, but she's so...round." He finished lamely. "I didn't want to hurt her, or the baby."

Michelangelo looked back at the bed. 'Well at least I know I don't have to change my sheets." He observed. "But then what did you do that took so long?" He wondered.

Raphael shrugged. "I kissed her, and just held her near because I never thought I would again."

Michelangelo nodded in understanding. "So, do you want to sleep in here with her or do you want to sleep with Leo?" Michelangelo asked.

Raphael frowned in confusion.

Michelangelo sighed. "Someone has to sleep with Leo in case he needs to get up." Michelangelo pointed out reasonably. "We can't have Leo shouting from your bedroom that he needs to pee. Besides if we leave Leo alone he will try to do it on his own, and that will get Donny angry and Kitten angry, and generally it will be all bad."

"I guess we can take shifts." Raphael conceded. "I'll take first shift with Leo, you sleep here with Kitten." Michelangelo's eyes widened in surprise. Raphael shrugged. "Between you and Donny you two are the most sane ones around here. And you don't want anything from her. Besides, I need to prove to Kitten that I can play nice with Leo. If I can't she'll just tell us both to get stuffed again and if that happens she will walk away and I know I'll never see her again. That and when Leo finally wakes up we need to have a long talk." Raphael said as he walked to the bed, leaned down and gave Katherine a light kiss on the cheek.

Katherine blurrily opened her eyes and looked at him. 'Go back to sleep Kitten." He said gently as he brushed a finger lightly over her cheek. She closed her eyes and fell back asleep.

"Night Mikey." He said as he strolled from the room and walked to his own. He pulled up a chair and sat down heavily into it. He studied his brother's gaunt face. The streak of cerulean blue across his brother's eyes was a comforting sight to see. "You need to eat more Leo." He said as he gently brushed a finger across his brother's skeletal cheek bone. He closed his eyes and fell asleep with one hand lightly placed on his brother's arm.

* * *

><p><strong>Awwwhhhhhhh brotherly fluff, gotta love it. And Katherine's mom, I love that woman!<strong>

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A big giant thank you as always to Amoraphoenix for Beta reading this chapter and offering up her lovely opinions and ideas! Always very much appreciated! You rock!**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers Icecreampopstar, chibiwolf33, mela989898, Hellgirl-fan1, yesiamweird and dondena!**

**And now on with the show! =)**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 22<span>

**Katherine** awoke to find strong arms surrounding her, but the persistent snore and soft lemon scent made her realize that it was Michelangelo and not Leonardo or Raphael that lay beside her. Katherine closed her eyes and groaned. She didn't want to get up, she was still tired, but there was a baby sitting on her bladder and she needed to use the bathroom.

She slid from the bed, replacing herself with Michelangelo's ratty old stuffed Bunny 'Binky', and tried not to disturb Michelangelo. He mumbled something about someone stealing the last burrito, hugged Binky tightly and promptly began to snore softly again.

She smiled and shook her head as she slowly opened the door and slipped out. She looked down the hallway and hoped the bathroom would be free.

"There you are." Donatello said with a smile as he stepped into the hallway from Leonardo's room. "Here." He said giving her an empty plastic cup.

She frowned at the cup and looked at Donatello in confusion. "Collect a sample and I'll take it to my lab." He said to her.

She continued to look at the cup in confusion. "Collect a sample of...oh." She finally said in understanding as she blushed bright red.

"I am not peeing in a cup Donatello." She hissed at him in a low voice.

"I need to check and make sure that there isn't sugar or protein..." Donatello began but Katherine quickly cut him off.

"Okay, okay, fine." She grumbled as she headed down the stairs to use the bathroom on the main floor. "I suppose you want to poke and prod me too?" She asked over her shoulder as she closed the bathroom door in Donatello's face.

"Yes Katherine." He said sternly through the door.

She did what she had to do and opened the door, giving him the sample. "This is going to get awkward Donatello." She said to him. "Granted I know that all of you have seen me naked before, but I wasn't really functioning very well mentally that is, so I wasn't really embarrassed."

Donatello just shrugged. "I know I'm not a doctor, but I'm the closest thing you've got." He pointed out reasonably as he led her to his lab.

"Try telling that to your brothers." She grumbled as he motioned for her to hop up on his examination table. "I'm not as agile as I used to be Donatello."

Donatello blushed with embarrassment. "Right." He said as he carefully picked her up in his arms and deposited her on the table as if she were the finest china. She didn't let him pull away for a moment and he froze. "Thank you Donatello, you did good. And I know it couldn't have been easy for you, but you did everything you could to help Leonardo and keep him alive." She said to him softly as he returned her embrace.

"I know." He said into her neck. "But... I guess it's nice hearing someone else say it." Donatello replied softly. He pulled away from her then and gave her an embarrassed smile.

"Commence the poking and prodding Donatello." She said as Donatello nodded.

He began by checking her blood pressure and then getting her to lie down. He checked her ankles to see if they were swollen and then he tried to find the baby's heart beat.

Donatello smiled in silent wonder. "Here listen." He said as he gave her the stethoscope. "You can hear your heartbeat, but you can also hear the other one, they one that sounds like the flutter of butterfly wings." Donatello said softly as Katherine was able to distinguish the sound Donatello was talking about.

She gave him back the stethoscope and watched as she lay back down to let him measure her belly.

"The ultrasound machine isn't the newest, but it is good enough to give me some idea of what is going on." Donatello said as he wheeled the machine over and turned it on. "Do you have to pee again?"

"I'm pregnant I have to pee all the time." Katherine said with a half smile.

"Good." He said as he lifted up her shirt exposing her rounded belly. Donatello then squirted some cold, clear gel-like liquid on her belly and began to move the wand around. Katherine watched the monitor and she could hear the baby's heart beat, but the grey image was so grainy she couldn't understand what she was seeing.

'What is that?" She asked, worriedly. "Please tell me I'm not going to lay an egg, I don't think I could take it."

Donatello snorted and smiled. "Those are the uterine walls. Your baby is here." He said pointing to a grey blob that appeared to be moving.

The monitor flickered and Donatello frowned. "Don't you dare break on me now." Donatello growled at the machine as the image snapped back into focus.

"All of the baby's organs appear to be in the inside of the body. Which is good." Donatello paused as he repositioned the wand. "There is the baby's heart, and it is beating strong, but we heard that earlier."

The screen flickered again, threateningly. "I can't quite." Donatello squinted at the screen as if that would make the image any clearer. "I think the baby may be more human in appearance." He said as the monitor suddenly went black.

Donatello glared at the machine. "Damn! I'm sorry Kitten, I'll try to fix it so I can get another look." Donatello said as he wiped off her belly.

Katherine felt a worried knot that had formed in her stomach loosen slightly. "Who knew that a grainy grey blob that vaguely resembles the alien monster from the Alien movies would somehow be comforting." Katherine said with a smile as she tried to get Donatello to cheer up and smile.

Donatello lost his frown and smiled. "From what I was able to see the baby looks like it's developing fine. I'll weigh you next." Donatello said as she grimaced. She knew she was pregnant. Gaining weight was a good thing, still not being able to see her toes when she looked down was a little strange to her. Especially considering when she had gone to the gala she could still see her feet, then boom she woke up and her feet had slowly begun to disappear more and more each day. hiding her pregnancy from Barry and Deon had been the hardest part. Luckily it was winter and hoodies with pockets in the front were her best friend. It just didn't seem right that Barry and Deon would know before Leonardo and Raphael. So she had kept it a secret. That and she had been embarrassed. After all she was way too young and she was currently broken up with the possible fathers of the baby. She closed her eyes. She _was_ knocked up. She groaned inwardly.

"Are you okay?" Donatello asked with concern.

Katherine opened her eyes and smiled at Donatello."Yes, just thinking sorry." She said as her attention was caught by a movement in the doorway.

"Donny," April's voice drifted in from the doorway. "Katherine called yesterday and said we should stop by, but this place is like a tomb. Where is every...What happened to you hair... Oh my God you're **PREGNANT**!" April's shocked voice echoed through the room.

Donatello helped her to sit up and slide off the table. She looked at April in embarrassment.

April looked tired, harried, but oddly good, as if motherhood suited her. She held Shadow in her arms, both still bundled up in heavy spring clothes.

"Casey!" April yelled as she hurried out of Donatello's lab.

Katherine shared a looked with Donatello who just shrugged. "If you don't know, then I don't know." He said with a shake of his head.

April came barrelling back into the lab, shutting the door behind her. She was now baby free and strode up to Katherine a look of confused concern on her face.

"Uh...hi April." She said with an embarrassed smile as April ogled her stomach in awe.

"How are you pregnant?" April asked bluntly.

"Well as Michelangelo very eloquently pointed out, tab A went into slot B and..." She said with a faltering smile as she was enveloped in an encompassing bear hug.

"It's been nearly four months since we were told to stay away for our own safety. We had no idea what's been going on. All we know is that crime has skyrocketed and the police have their hands full with a massive gang war." April pulled away slightly. "When I got your call I was surprised and glad, but...We were worried something awful had happened."

"Hey Donny did you know that Casey's here with...oh." Raphael said as he walked into the lab. "Hey April." Raphael's eyes sought out Katherine's and he walked towards her. April stepped away from Katherine in confusion as he pulled her close. "How is she Donny?" Raphael asked in a soft voice.

"She's fine Raph." Donatello said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "She's a little underweight but that's to be expected since she just got out of a coma, baby's heartbeat is strong..."

"Wait...Raph, you're the father?" April asked incredulous.

Raphael glared at her and opened his mouth.

"Not that there is anything wrong with that." April hastily put in before Raphael was able to say anything. "I just didn't think that...you could...you know." April stammered to a stop and made a vaguely circular motion. Then April blinked. "Wait, what do you mean she just got out of a coma? Donny when you called me you told me everyone was fine." She accused as she rounded on Donatello. "I knew Katherine was in the hospital, but I didn't know she was in a coma!"

"April..." Donatello began as he held his hands up in surrender but was interrupted by Michelangelo's voice.

"Donny's giving Kitten a check up." He paused for a moment as if listening to someone whose voice did not carry as well. "You're allowed to go in Leo, it's your kid too you know." Michelangelo said as he entered the lab. "Oh, hey April."

"Mikey I am going to kill you." Raphael growled angrily, his eyes blazing.

"You can't." Michelangelo said with a shake of his head. "I'm the only one holding Leo upright at the moment."

April's face paled at the sight of Leonardo's skeletal figure, his flesh stretched too tightly over his bones.. He looked as if a strong wind could blow him over.

Katherine studied Leonardo's gaunt features with concern but did not leave the circle of Raphael's arms. She was glad to see the strip of cerulean blue across his eyes. Without it he had looked naked and almost lost. With his mask, he looked as if he had a purpose again...a meaning to his life.

"You never can keep your big mouth shut can you?" Raphael accused Michelangelo, giving his brother a glare that would have sent any lesser man running.

"Sorry Raph, I didn't know April was in here. I heard a baby crying but I thought it was the TV. I didn't go to the living room to investigate to see if we had visitors. Leo is still heavy for all that he's a sack of skin and bones." Michelangelo said shifting his grip on Leonardo slightly.

Leonardo looked at Michelangelo his face irritated and offended. "Mikey..." Leonardo ground out through clenched teeth.

"So how's Kitten?" Michelangelo asked into the silence of the room, changing the subject.

"I have entered a mad house." April said throwing her hands up in frustration. "What has been going on for the past four months? Leo looks like the Grim Reaper's brother, the rest of you all look like crap and why did Mikey say that Katherine is having Leo's kid if she is going out with Raph?"

"It's a long, complicated story April." Donatello said trying to calm their increasingly agitated friend.

"April I can't get Shadow to... oh hey guys." Casey said happily as he brought a very unhappy baby into the room.

April sighed. "Teething is the worst." She grumbled as she held out her hands to take Shadow from Casey.

Casey was frowning at Katherine. "Either you got fat, or you're pregnant." Casey observed.

"Casey!" April hissed in horror.

"What? It's true! I'm bettin' pregnant though cause it's just her stomach. See I'm not a total idiot." Casey said to April while pointing at Katherine's stomach.

April closed her eyes in embarrassed frustration.

"Way to go bro!" Casey tried to high five Raphael, but Raphael just clutched Katherine closer and glared at his friend. "And you didn't think you could knock up a human chick, guess you were wrong."

April's eyes flew open as she watched as Raphael possessively pulled Katherine closer.

"Casey!" April hissed.

"What?" Casey looked around at the room's occupants. 'Am I missing something? And why does Leo look like he went on an extreme death diet, and why can't he walk?" He asked.

"Come on April. Let's give the boys a minute and see if we can't get Shadow to calm down." She said as she pulled herself from Raphael's arms

Raphael let her go and she and April walked past Michelangelo and Leonardo. She paused as she looked into Leonardo's eyes. She smiled at him and gently patted his cheek before continuing out the door.

She led the way upstairs and into Raphael's bedroom. April stopped at the door. "Are you sure...?" She asked before Katherine motioned for her to come in.

"It's okay, Raphael can suck it up, he's a big boy. Besides, it's the closest thing I have to a bedroom at the moment." She said as she sat down on the bed. "Though I suppose I did sleep in Michelangelo's room last night." She said with a shrug. "So I guess we could talk in there." She made a movement to stand.

"No, no, that's okay." April said with a shake of her head as she bounced Shadow up and down trying to get her to stop fussing.

Katherine nodded and held her hands out for Shadow. April handed her over and Katherine looked at the drooling baby girl. "I don't think I can do this April." She said as she started bouncing Shadow in her knee.

April sat down beside her. "Nobody really thinks they can, in the beginning" April answered softly.

Katherine nodded and began to speak. She told April all of the events that had occurred since the building exploded, and then had to backtrack further in time when it came to talking about her pregnancy.

"I don't really know what to say." April said when Katherine had finished. April looked visibly stunned.

"I know, tell me about it." Katherine grumbled.

April put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "They get better you know."

Katherine looked at April in confusion."Men. They go back and forth between terrified and excited. I think most women do as well. But Raph and Leo will get better, eventually." April said with a small laugh.

Katherine looked down at Shadow who was sleeping in her arms and nodded. "So who is the father?" April asked.

"I honestly don't know April." She replied.

"I'm sorry. I just keep trying to wrap my head around the fact that they were both dating you. I could more easily believe you all had a really drunken threesome than I could believing that they are actually getting along enough to date you."

"I know." She said softly as she blew out a frustrated breath. "I just don't really know what to do about them."

April was silent for a moment. "Choose who you love most. In the end that is all that matters. It doesn't really matter who the father is, it's just DNA. The more important part is who you would be happiest with, and who will be the better father for your baby, end of story."

Katherine numbly nodded as she blinked back tears. "Being pregnant sucks." She complained as she handed Shadow gently off to April and brushed away the tears that threatened to fall.

April chuckled. "It gets worse, just you wait." She said as she turned serious.

"I don't know April." She said as she answered the older woman's unasked question of who she loved more. "I feel like I am being pulled in two different directions. I love Raphael, but at the same time I love Leonardo. My heart would break if either one of them was not in my life."

April was silent for a moment. "You can let one go and he will still be in your life Katherine."

"It isn't that simple." Katherine said with a shake of her head. "For the moment it looks as if we are all back together again."

"Dealing with one man is hard enough, I can't imagine trying to juggle two." April said with a shake of her head. "Now don't get me wrong, I love the guys to death and there is a part of me that is excited that one of them is going to be a dad, but Leo and Raph are like oil and water. All they do is fight and Raphael always tries to find ways to get under Leo's skin." April paused in thought. "But I guess Leo is going to have a long painful road to recovery ahead of him."

Katherine nodded.

"It isn't your fault that Leo did what he did you know." April said comfortingly.

"I know." She answered, her voice a soft whisper. "But part of me hates him for it."

Katherine wiped away more tears as they continued to fall. "But he gets no more freebies, no more get out of the doghouse free cards. He swore to me on his honour that he would never do anything like that again. And I will hold him to that, because I won't forgive him again." She said with a harsh edge in her voice.

April frowned but nodded her agreement. Katherine faced April then. "Can you be there for me?" She asked softly.

April smiled. "I am here for you Katherine."

"I mean in the...when I go into labour?"

April blinked for a moment as if she was stunned by the request.

"It's okay to say no." Katherine put in hastily.

"No, I would love to be there." April paused in thought for a moment. "I wish I had someone in there other than Casey. Men are pretty useless when it comes to that kind of thing. The nurses spent half the time pulling Casey off the ground because he kept fainting." She said with wry remembrance.

Katherine couldn't help but smile. "Thanks April."

"Oh this is going to be so exciting!" April said happily. "What names have you picked out? What colour are you going to paint the baby's room? Where is the baby's room going to be? Do you think it's a boy or a girl. Are you interested in a water birth, I've heard good things about them but I never got to try it out..."

Katherine blinked at the onslaught, but smiled at her friend's excitement.

"And I have books you should read. You should get Leo and Raph to read them too, they are very helpful. Although you may have to read them to Raph. Anyway I will bring the books over tomorrow and I have a bunch of gender neutral sleepers you can have. And we are going to have to go shopping for baby furniture...Do you think that the baby will look more human or look more like the guys?" She asked suddenly.

"I have no idea." She responded truthfully.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> tried not to glare at Leonardo as he shakily managed to eat the broth with small bits of chicken that Donatello had given him to eat for dinner. April and Casey had left with promises to return tomorrow and Katherine had insisted she help Michelangelo with dinner and cleaning up. Donatello was in his lab and he was on nurse duty making sure that Leo not only was a good boy and ate all of his disgusting dinner, but that he didn't try to use his leg. Donatello had already gone through a series of exercises to begin to work his leg, and Donatello didn't want Leonardo to overdo it.

"Sorry about the broth Leo. I tried to sneak you some lasagne, but Donny caught me." Raphael said to his brother.

Leonardo gave him a wry smile and a brief nod of acknowledgement. Raphael had already talked with Leonardo about what he and Michelangelo had discussed the night before.

"Mikey's really grown up, hasn't he?" Leonardo observed suddenly.

Raphael paused for a moment in thought before answering and then briefly nodded his head.

"How'd your talk with Casey go?" Leonardo asked.

Raphael sighed. "You know I think Mikey says stupid stuff on purpose, just to see what will happen."

Leonardo grinned as he put his empty bowl of broth on the night stand. "I don't think we ever gave him enough credit."

"Or we gave him too much." Raphael said with a shake of his head. "When I think of Mikey I think of Wile E. Coyote. Smart but somehow everything always blows up in his face."

Leonardo thought about it for a moment. "Because that in no way sounds like you." His brother pointed out.

Raphael opened his mouth but snapped it shut because he didn't know whether to be offended or pleased. Instead he just snorted. "The talk was awkward. I mean..." He looked at his brother. "It just was. Anyway Casey knows that we are both dating Kitten." He finished with a casual shrug

Leonardo nodded. "Drag my name through the mud?" He asked.

"Several times over." Raphael said with a firm nod. "So how do you think Kitten's talk with April went?" He asked.

Leonardo shrugged. "I haven't seen Katherine since this morning, so you would have to tell me."

Raphael winced and nodded. Raphael had dragged Casey from Donatello's lab to have a chat, and Donatello had made sure that Leo ate and did his exercises. April and Casey had left and then Katherine had disappeared into the bathroom for a while to have a shower and do other girly things, "_I'm pregnant, so even though I can't see my feet they are at least going to look good anyways_." And then Katherine began preparing dinner as Leonardo napped. He was still pretty frail, but he was getting stronger, which was a drastic improvement over what Leonardo had been like yesterday.

"All April would talk about was babies. I don't remember her talking about Shadow so much during Thanksgiving, but it was like that was all she could talk about."

"April being excited that Katherine is pregnant is a good thing Raph." Leonardo pointed out.

Raphael grimaced. "You didn't have to listen to it. I ran away to go hit my punching bag when April started taking about water births." Raphael said with a shudder.

Leonardo's grin widened. "It will be good for Katherine to have a different kind of support Raph, so be glad it's April that is doing that instead of you having that conversation."

"Good point." He agreed. "And Katherine seemed happier and less...worried, more relaxed." He said to his brother who lost his grin.

"Was she?" He questioned.

Raphael shrugged. "You know what Kitten is like Leo it's too damn hard to tell, but yeah I think so."

Leonardo nodded. "Good."

Raphael was silent for a moment. "Mikey's in love with Kitten." He informed his brother.

Leonardo nodded. "I know."

Raphael wasn't surprised that Leonardo had already figured out what he had. "He said he doesn't want her, just wants her to be happy. Do you believe him?" Raphael asked.

"Yeah, I do Raph." Leonardo replied softly.

Raphael nodded as Katherine strode into the room. Raphael hastily stood offering her his chair but she just waved at him to sit back down.

She groaned. "Babies are too much work." She said as she crawled into the bed behind where Leonardo was sitting. "I don't even have one yet and all I can think about now is stupid stuff that is suddenly important, but...I need to sleep." She said to them.

"Kitten it's only 7:00pm" Raphael said in surprise.

"I know, but I am so tired I almost fell asleep eating my dinner. In fact I am pretty sure if I hadn't been so hungry I would have. April said she remembers being really tired and hungry, so I guess it is normal. She said it will probably get better, but to enjoy sleep now because in about two months I won't be able to sleep anymore because it will be too uncomfortable. Something about quote 'nature's way of getting you ready for never sleeping again' unquote. Which just seems unfair to me. Unfair but probably true. And then she said something about buying me a body pillow. What is a body pillow and why do I need one?" She asked him as Raphael shook his head. "Well at least I'm not the only one who is lost." Katherine paused for a minute before continuing.

"I don't remember my brother." She began and Raphael felt himself straighten. Katherine did not talk about her past, ever. Just in odd moments when she needed them to understand something deeper that was going on in her mind. Leonardo turned his body slightly so that he could actually see her face. "I remember odd flashes here and there. I remember a dark haired boy, but I can't actually remember his face. If it wasn't for the photographs I wouldn't even remember what he looked like. But I suppose I remember him better than my father who I have no memory of at all." She paused in thought for a moment before continuing. "My stepbrothers are nine and seven years younger than me. I love them to death, but they were shuffled back and forth in a joint custody agreement for most of the time. It has only been in the last 3 years that they have lived with my mom and step-father full time. I don't mind kids, I just don't have any experience with them."

"Katherine," Leonardo said turning as much as he could to face her. He reached out and brushed a finger across her cheek. "I've seen you with Shadow, you are going to be a great mom."

"Leonardo, babies are easy. I mean they are hard, but they are simple. Eat, feed, change, play. But it is when they get older that, I just don't ever know what to say or do with them."

"Trust me." Leonardo said with a soft loving smile.

Raphael studied his brother's face and wondered if he looked at Katherine the same way Leonardo did, because if he did it was no wonder Barry had been angry with him. He hadn't understood what Barry had meant, that Raphael looked at Katherine as if she was his world, but now he knew, now he understood, and it frightened him as much as he was in awe of the look.

Katherine smiled back at Leonardo and Raphael's breath caught in his throat. The love that shone from her face was breathtaking. She turned her gaze to Raphael and included him in her love filled smile.

"That reminds me." Katherine said as she crawled from the bed. "Come on Leonardo." Katherine said to him. Leonardo looked at Katherine's proffered hand in confusion.

"Can you help him Raphael?" Katherine asked him. Raphael nodded and stood, then helped Leonardo to stand, draping his brother's arm over his shoulder.

"Follow me." She said as she waved at them to follow.

Raphael exchanged a look with Leonardo who only shrugged. They followed Katherine from the room and down to the main floor. It would be the second time Leonardo had made the trip downstairs today, and Raphael could tell that it was taking a lot out of his brother, but Raphael knew from experience that Katherine usually never did anything without a reason.

It was good though to see Katherine acting like Katherine. It was then he wondered if Katherine had buried the emotional trauma of shooting Leonardo and then being blown up deep within herself, or if she had managed to deal with it.

Katherine slid open the sliding doors that led to Master Splinter's meditation room. There Master Splinter's marker, stood. A tiny shrine to commemorate a great life.

Katherine gathered a few pillows and motioned for Raphael to put Leonardo on the floor.

"Katherine?" Leonardo asked in confusion.

"I know you won't be in a traditional prayer position because of your leg. But I think it will still be okay." She said as she arranged pillows around Leonardo to make him more comfortable. "When was the last time you talked with your father Leonardo?" She asked him.

"I..." Leonardo frowned in thought.

"Far too long I think."Katherine said as she straightened from her crouched position. "It is time for you to talk with your father Leonardo." She said as she gave his brother's cheek a loving and comforting caress. "Raphael will come and get you in an hour." She said as she pulled Raphael from the room, sliding the doors closed behind her.

Raphael looked at Katherine in confusion. "Leonardo has a lot to think about and a lot to talk about. He will not feel better until he truly deals with what he did." She said as she began leading him back to his bedroom.

Raphael pulled Katherine to a stop just as she set her first foot on the bottom step. "I'm sorry Katherine." He said to her as he pulled her close, burying his face in her neck.

"I don't know what you are apologizing for." She said to him as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I couldn't be there for you. You were stuck in that hospital bed for over three months and woke up, probably scared, confused and alone, and I wasn't there, couldn't be there." He said regretfully.

Katherine pulled away and looked at him seriously. "You had enough on your plate looking after Leonardo. I was unconscious for over three months, I don't really think it would have made a difference if you had been there or not. Would it have been nice knowing what was going on when I first woke up? Yes. But never once did I ever blame you for not being there."

"If I was human..." He began.

"You wouldn't be you." She said to him. 'And I love you, just the way you are Raphael." She put her arms around his neck and leaned in kissing him with a passion that left him in no doubt of her love or her passion.

Finally she pulled away and gave him a mischievous smile. "Come on, we have less than an hour now."

Raphael frowned but let her lead him upstairs. "For what?" He questioned.

"You are going to finish what you started last night." She said to him over her shoulder.

He pulled her to a stop then, shaking his head. "I can't Kitten." He said softly as he motioned to her swollen belly.

"Well it isn't as if you can get me pregnant again, that horse has already escaped from that barn."

"I'll hurt you, or the baby." He said shaking his head back and forth.

"No you won't." She said firmly. "You just don't get to lead anymore, I do." She said with an impish smile and a wink as she dragged him into his room. He kicked the door closed behind him and let her pull him into the bed with her. He knew himself and he was not strong enough to resist her. Not twice in a row.

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><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> looked at the shrine in front of him. He leaned forward, lighting the incense and placing it in front of the marker. "Master Splinter, father. I haven't talked to you in a while. Probably since I found out Raphael was still alive." He began softly as he closed his eyes. "Many things have happened since then. Though you probably know that already. "

"You should see how much everyone's grown up. Mikey is using his brain, mostly for good, sometimes for mischief, but he is so focused now. He takes good care of all of us. And Raph, you probably wouldn't even recognize him. I'm not saying he never loses his temper, but now it's like he controls it better, and he seems to have lost much of his selfish streak. He thinks more about the consequences of his own actions and take responsibility for his mistakes. And Donny, Donny has actually come out of his shell. He doesn't hide in his lab all the time, and he's really opened up."

Leonardo took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of the sandalwood that had permeated the room. "I just wish you could have met her. Though I suppose if you had been around we would never have met her because the event that occurred may never have happened, but I would like to think that our paths would have crossed, somehow. But I guess you already know how badly I screwed things up. I tried to do the honourable thing, but I failed even in that. But...I am glad I failed. I should never have tried to restore my honour by taking my own life. Our family needs me, just as I need all of them."

Leonardo paused for a moment before he continued. "I need to grow up." He said as he contemplated his and Raphael's conversation this morning. Raphael had told him that they needed to support Katherine better, and to stop leaning on her so much. That they all had to let her lean on them, as much as Katherine would allow herself to lean on another person that is. "I think that she is five steps ahead of me, and I am trying so hard to catch up to her, and I don't think I ever will. But then she lets me, but not because I have caught up on my own, but because she stops for me. But I want to be able to walk beside her, hand in hand. Raph's almost caught up to her, but I want to be able to walk with her as well. Is it wrong to want to do that father? Maybe it is, but I want to."

Leonardo licked his dry lips and continued. "I may become a father, or maybe it will be Raph, but I want you to know that regardless I want to do everything in my power to be the type of father that you were to us."

He took another deep breath and cleared his mind. He didn't really know where his father's spirit was, but he hoped that perhaps his father heard him, and he always felt as if his father was somehow watching over them.

He didn't know how long he sat there with his bad leg outstretched, but he eventually heard the screen doors slide open.

"You done Leo?" Raphael's softened voice drifted to his ears.

Leonardo nodded as his brother came around to help him up off the floor. "You feel better Leo?" Raphael asked him.

He thought about it for a minute and then nodded. "Yeah Raph I do. I didn't really realize how much I needed to talk to Master Splinter." He replied softly.

"Does Master Splinter ever answer? When you talk to him I mean?" Raphael questioned as they walked from the meditation room.

"No, but I like to think he can hear me."

Raphael gave a curt nod of understanding.

"Is Katherine asleep?" Leonardo asked.

Raphael gave him a wicked, self satisfied grin. "If she wasn't tired before, she's tired now."

Leonardo rolled his eyes and shook his head as much as his injured neck would allow. They made their way up the stairs. Leonardo found that he had to pause halfway up and rest his good leg. Finally he indicated he was good to finish the walk up the stairs. He looked down the hallway and noticed that Raphael's door was slightly open with a soft light emanating from within.

As they approached he could hear the lowered voices of Katherine and Michelangelo. "Why do you want to get married Kitten?" Michelangelo's voice asked softly.

Leonardo was suddenly brought to a stop by Raphael. He frowned at his brother whose attention was fixated on the open door. He tried to pull his brother forward but Raphael remained rooted to the spot.

"I mean, it's just a piece of paper." Michelangelo finished.

Katherine chuckled softly.

Leonardo turned his attention to the door straining to hear her words. He felt a slight twinge of guilt that they were eavesdropping on a private conversation, but found he did not want to interrupt or turn away.

"I never really thought much about marriage other than I may do it one day. And if being with your brothers meant I couldn't get married, I was okay with that. And you are right, it is a just a piece of paper. But, it is more that a legal contract that enables you to get half of everything if you split up, and enables you to file your taxes together and click the little married box. And I know that just because you marry someone it doesn't mean that they are any less able to walk away or stop loving you or stray. It's just a piece of paper. And I don't have a problem with anyone who does or chooses not to marry. If it works for them I say go for it. But I suppose for me it is even bigger than the promise that you will love each other in sickness and health and all that other stuff. It means that you are proclaiming through a ritual in front of all of your loved ones, of family and friends, that they are IT. That they are the one that you want to spend the rest of your life with. That you have chosen them to walk with you, hand and hand down the path that you enter together, through all of life's challenges you will be there for each other, because they are your companion in life and your best friend. But I guess it is kind of silly, huh?" Katherine asked softly.

"It's not silly Katherine, it's beautiful. Just like you." Michelangelo replied softly. "Katherine, would you marry me?" Michelangelo questioned softly.

Leonardo felt Raphael tense and Leonardo found his own body reacting in anger to Michelangelo's proposal. But neither he nor Raphael moved. Frozen to the spot, waiting for Katherine's reply.

"I think I may be tempted to say yes Michelangelo, if you actually meant it. It would make things so much simpler."

Michelangelo laughed. "I should have known you would never take the easy way out Kitten."

Katherine added her laughter to Michelangelo's. "You'll find your girl one day Michelangelo. And when you do, she will be a very lucky woman."

"I do love you Kitten." Michelangelo said softly, all laughter gone from his voice. "When Leo and Raph left to go back to the lair, and left you with me and Donny...That one night when we were together..."

"Michelangelo." Katherine cut him off softly. "I know you love me," She replied with equal seriousness. "But..."

"But I don't love you as much as Raph and Leo love you." Michelangelo observed.

"No." She replied.

The room was silent for a moment before Michelangelo spoke again. "It still would have been easier Kitten."

Katherine chuckled as Leonardo heard a distinctive _whumphf_ of a soft object, probably a pillow, hitting a harder object, probably Michelangelo.

Raphael moved then, pulling Leonardo along with him.

"Okay you two, no pillow fights allowed." Raphael said sternly as Michelangelo looked at the pillow clutched in his hands. Michelangelo smiled innocently and put the pillow back down.

"It's okay Raphael, it was only a defence pillow. He would never hit a pregnant lady, would you Michelangelo?" Katherine asked teasingly.

Michelangelo hopped off the bed taking her hand in his. "Never fair maiden. I live only to serve." Michelangelo said with a flourishing bow.

"Okay sir knight, this fair maiden wants to go to bed." Katherine paused in thought. "Though I guess I can't really call myself a maiden." She said looking at her belly ruefully.

Michelangelo burst out laughing. "Night Kitten." He said with a smile. "Night Leo, Night Raph." Michelangelo said with a wave. "You two behave." He warned in a half serious voice as he strode from the room, closing the door behind him.

"Mikey is seriously needin' his ass kicked." Raphael grumbled as he helped to lower Leonardo onto the bed beside Katherine. "It has been way too long since the last time."

Leonardo looked thoughtfully at the closed bedroom door.

"Goodnight Leonardo, goodnight Raphael." Katherine said as she lay down in the middle of the bed. Raphael stalked around to the other side of the bed and slid between the sheets, gathering Katherine up in his arms.

Leonardo lay down his back facing Katherine. It was then that he felt Katherine pull him in closer so that she was almost spooning him, her arm around his waist. Leonardo closed his eyes in contentment.

"Goodnight Katherine." Leonardo whispered softly as he was dragged down into a comforting sleep.

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><p><strong>Awwwhhh I thought the Mikey Kitten moment was sweet. (bad Mikey) but sweet.=)<strong>

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome! **


	23. Chapter 23

**A big giant thank you to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter and giving me evilly delicious ideas.**

**Also a big thank you to Mela989898, Chibiwolf33, dondena and Icecreampopstar for reviewing!**

**Also this chapter ended up being too long, so I had to cut it in half, so this is a little bit of a tease;)**

**Please enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter 23<span>

**Katherine** let out a puff of irritation. "You two are impossible!" She said in frustration as she looked at the objects of her ire.

"We ain't impossible Kitten." Raphael pointed out reasonably.

"We have two weeks, count them, fourteen _days_ until I am due and we still haven't agreed on a name!" She said with annoyance.

"That's because your names all suck." Raphael said bluntly.

"They do not suck!" She said offended.

"Yeah they do." Raphael said as she turned her attention to Leonardo who was lying beside her on the bed, a book of international baby names sitting open beside him. He looked better than he had nearly 4 months ago. He had regained much of his lost weight and a spark of determination had replaced his hopelessness in regards to his injured leg.

Leonardo flipped a page and wrote down another name. "Raph, your names are no better. Your names are all action movie star or wrestler names."

"Wait, you agree with him?" Katherine asked in shock.

Leonardo did not answer her question.

"Yeah well your names suck too Leo. Your names are all Japanese names." Raphael pointed out. "And why do all three of us have to sit here and pick names anyway?"

"Because Raphael, I already have told you more than enough times. I don't really care who the father is, so since either you or Leonardo could be the father all three of us have to agree on a name."

"Yeah well I ain't havin' Leo name my kid." Raphael replied angrily.

"That's okay Raph," Leonardo said as he flipped another page."I'm not going to let you name my child," Leonardo glanced up. "Stallone or Rambo."

"Okay that is enough!" Katherine said angrily. "No one gets to leave this room until we at least agree on _something_. I am tired and I haven't slept in almost two months, I am the size of a small house and I just want to be able to see my feet again. Casey is coming over later with the baby furniture and you two have to help him set up the rest of the nursery. So, this is what we are going to do. We will each say our four top names and then, the other two will decide out of the four the one they can live with. That should at least narrow it down to three. Agreed?" She asked.

Raphael crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. "Fine." He said ungraciously.

Leonardo nodded his agreement.

"Fine, I'll go first." Katherine said as she took up her list. "Girls names first."

Raphael groaned as Katherine shot him a quelling glance. "Elizabeth."

"Pass." Raphael put in promptly.

"Leonardo?" She asked.

Leonardo shook his head. "I agree with Raph. It is too...ordinary."

"Because Queen Elizabeth the first was ordinary." She grumbled as she said her next name. "Emberly." She said. Raphael and Leonardo both wrinkled their snouts in disgust. "Guinevere." Both men shook their heads. "Nix." She said her final name.

"What the hell kind of name is Nix?"Raphael asked in disgust. "As in the New York Knicks? At least I might be able to get behind that for a boy, but not for a girl." Raphael said shaking his head.

"Not Knicks, Nix. N-I-X. She was the Greek goddess of the night." She informed them with a frustrated sigh.

"Double pass." Raphael said with a shake of his head.

"This isn't going to work if neither of you pick a name." She said in exasperation.

"You give me a decent name and I will agree to it." Raphael grumbled.

"Fine, what do you have for girls names?" She said as she leaned against the wall trying to get comfortable.

"Laura." Raphael said.

"Laura Croft?" Katharine asked.

Raphael nodded. "Pass." She and Leonardo said together.

"Alundra." Raphael said.

"Wasn't she that wrestler?" Leonardo asked.

Raphael smiled.

"Pass." Katherine and Leonardo said in unison.

"Angelina." Raphael said as both Katherine and Leonardo shook their heads.

"What is it with you and Tomb Raider?" Leonardo asked.

Raphael shrugged. "Well that's all I got for girl names." Raphael said putting down his piece of paper.

Katharine sighed. "Leonardo?"

"Midori, Hayami, Kohana, Yoshima." Leonardo's replied quickly.

Katherine groaned again in frustration. "I have to agree with Raphael on this one Leonardo. I don't like any of those."

Leonardo shrugged. "A Japanese first name would go well with our Japanese last name." Leonardo said softly.

Katharine opened her mouth in shock. "You have a last name, really?" She said.

"It ain't like we use it much." Raphael said with a casual shrug.

"So you are telling me that even though I have known you for over a year, I am just finding out that you have a last name?"

"Think of it as an adopted last name." Raphael said as he snatched up a list of names from the bed.

"Hey." Leonardo protested.

"So let me see your boys names. You want somethin' like, Akihito Hamato, or Akihiro Hamato, Toshiro Hamato or Kitsuke Hamato.

"So your last name is Hamato?" She asked.

Raphael sighed and threw Leonardo's list back on the bed.

"Hamato Yoshi was our father's Master." Leonardo said softly.

"Or owner, if you want to get technical." Raphael put in as Leonardo glared at him. "What? He was a pet rat Leo."

"Okay, so basically you all sort of adopted the last name." Katharine said trying to turn their attention back to the matter at hand.

Raphael shrugged while Leonardo nodded. "I thought the baby would have my last name." Katherine said softly. Raphael and Leonardo both opened their mouths to reply. "Just because you are men does not mean that the baby automatically gets your last name." Katherine pointed out reasonably.

Leonardo and Raphael exchanged a look. "Nope any kid of mine is gonna have my last name Kitten. I may not use it much and I might not really think of myself as a Hamato, but it's the name my father had."

Leonardo looked at Raphael as if he was slightly stunned. "I agree with Raph on this one Katherine."

"My brother and I both have my mother's last name, there is nothing wrong with it. Besides I am the last of my line."

"So are we Katherine." Leonardo replied softly. "And we're the only ones of our kind." He added quietly.

Katherine closed her eyes and tried to stamp down her anger and her frustration. "Fine, we will discuss last names another day. The important thing is the first name. So out of your names Leonardo, I like Toshiro the best. Raphael?" She asked him.

Raphael shrugged. "Sure whatever." Raphael said. He then opened his mouth to say something else, but changed his mind and instead asked. "Okay Kitten what have you got?"

Katherine looked at Raphael suspiciously, wondering what he was going to say, but let it go. Knowing Raphael it was something stupid and he managed to stop himself. "Annachie."

"What the hell kind of name is Annachie?" Raphael asked with disbelief.

"It's Scottish." She defended. "It comes from a really beautiful Ballad."

"Next." Raphael said with a shake of his head.

"Gabriel."

"Too girly, next." Raphael said with a wave of his hand.

"Matteo."

"I don't know which is worse, this one or the first one." Raphael complained.

"Wasn't he an Italian renaissance artist?" Leonardo asked thoughtfully.

"And a mouse monk from the Redwall series by Brian Jaques, but yes he was. Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphaello, Matteo see, it works?"

Raphael frowned. "Raf-Ai-Eel. Not Raphaell-O." He grumbled.

Katherine shrugged. "It isn't my fault they anglicised it. And how they got Donatello from Donato I will never know," She said with a shake of her head. "But there you go."

Raphael stared at her blankly. "Pass." He ground out firmly between clenched teeth.

"Carin." She said softly.

"I know Carin is your Uncle's name Kitten, but…" Raphael began.

"Carin is fine Katherine." Leonardo said hastily cutting Raphael off and shooting Raphael a warning glance.

"Really?" She asked in surprise as Leonardo nodded his head firmly.

Raphael frowned and then shrugged. "Raif, Shade, Jet, Sloane."

"I like Raif," Katherine said thoughtfully. "But I think it is too close to your own name Raphael. Jet I will assume comes from Jet Li, though you know Jet is not his real name?"

Raphael shrugged. "Still like it."

Katherine looked at Leonardo to gauge his reaction to the names.

"Shade." Leonardo said with a slight nod.

Katherine smiled. "I don't hate it. Shade it is. So boys names Toshiro, Carin or Shade. That means we have it whittled down to three possible names for a boy, and absolutely nothing for a girl." She said as she ran her hand through her chin length silver locks.

Raphael opened his mouth but before he could say anything Katherine clutched her side in pain.

Raphael's eyes widened with panic and Leonardo quickly sat up.

"Foot in rib." She said as she tried shifting her position. "Ow, ow. Okay you need to get your foot out of my ribs." She complained to her unborn child.

Raphael and Leonardo relaxed.

"I need to get up and walk." She said as she tried to slide herself off the bed carefully.

"You are on bed rest Katherine." Leonardo said sternly.

"I know, I have been stuck here for the past two weeks Leonardo. But Donatello said I can still get up to pee. So move." She said giving him a hard shove in the arm. Leonardo frowned but nodded as he reluctanly moved out of her way and helped her from the bed.

She made her way to the door. She walked down the hall and past the bathroom. She hadn't lied, she needed to use the bathroom, she was just going to use the one on the main floor. And hopefully by then the baby would get his or her foot out of her ribs. Besides she was getting hungry and was craving something though she wasn't quite sure what it was.

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><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> watched Katherine walk out the door.

"She goin' downstairs?" Raphael asked Leonardo who walked to the door and watched Katherine walk past the bathroom and down the stairs.

"Yep." Leonardo said as he limped back to the bed. "I can sympathize."

"Carin? Really Leo?" Raphael asked.

"It was her brother's name. I wasn't going to say no. I don't think she'll want the name as a first name, maybe a middle name."

Raphael thought about it for a second and then nodded. "Thanks," Leonardo raised an eye ridge in question. "For not letting me stick my big foot in my mouth. I didn't know Carin was her brother's name too."

Leonardo shrugged. "It was in the newspaper article, the one about the crash, besides if you would have put your big foot in your mouth it would have hurt Katherine."

Raphael shrugged. "Thanks anyway."

Leonardo nodded. "But remember Raphael, if the child is mine I get to name him." Leonardo said sternly.

"Yeah yeah, same goes for you, no matter what Kitten says, I ain't naming my kid Toshiro."

Leonardo nodded at their mutual agreement.

Raphael leaned forward and lowered his voice slightly. "Do you think Kitten's okay?" He asked quietly.

Leonardo contemplated the question for a moment before answering."I'm not sure Raph. She seems fine. In fact she is acting much more like herself, minus the occasional mood swings, which if Casey's stories are anything to go by, have not been bad at all. Why?"

"Have you seen her draw, or paint since she's been here?" Raphael asked, his voice laced with concern.

Leonardo frowned. "Now that you mention it, no." Leonardo said with a shake of his head.

"It freaked me out when she began cleaning your room to turn it into a nursery, mostly because she was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor. But between Kitten, Mikey and myself we managed to get the room clean and blood free." Leonardo flinched and felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment and shame. Last month Katherine had got an itch to get the nursery set up. They needed a room that they could access easily and that was close by, so Katherine had suggested turning his room into the nursery. And although the thought of losing his room, personal belongings and privacy, he couldn't really object. They did need a nursery and his room was technically available. Though once the child was born and they found out who the father was, Leonardo knew that the living arrangements would have to change, but until then, his room was a nursery with ivy green walls.

Raphael continued. "But then she picked the paint colour with April and made me Mikey and Donny paint the room. I know painting a wall is different than painting a canvas, but still, I would have thought she would have wanted to paint some murals on the wall or something, but she didn't."

Leonardo thought over Raphael's observation and reluctantly nodded. "You're right Raph. Katherine used to carry around her sketchbook everywhere, before..." He was going to say before Hun, but Raphael already knew what he was talking about.

Raphael just nodded his agreement. "So, she's not better, just really good at hiding her hurt."

"Maybe, or maybe she only sketches and draws when she has a project on the go." He said even though he didn't believe his own words, and from the expression on Raphael's face, he didn't believe them either.

"I'll go talk to her, see if she needs anything and make sure she gets back to bed." Leonardo said as he gingerly stood. He rubbed his thigh and began to limp from the room.

"How's your leg Leo?" Raphael asked over his shoulder.

"Still hurts sometimes. But it is getting better." He said as he limped through the door.

His leg was getting better. At least he could walk on his own now, but if Donatello was correct, he still could not begin to train for at least another 5 months. This thought made his hand grip the stair railing more tightly in frustration. He knew he would limp for a few years, and this thought bothered him more than he liked.

He turned his attention instead to Katherine who was standing by the couch tapping a letter on her lips as she looked into the distance in obvious contemplation.

He limped up to her. "A letter?" He questioned.

She looked at him and nodded. "April gave it to me. She said it came in the mail a few days ago addressed to me. It's from my mother and I have been contemplating on opening it or not." He lifted an eye ridge in question. "It's from my mother and she didn't mention it. So I am worried I am going to find something horrifying, weird or a combination of both." She said with a half smile. She flipped it over to open it. "Casey and April should be here soon." She said as she tore the rectangular envelope open.

She looked inside and frowned in confusion as she held her hand out. A ring fell into her hand. She looked at it in shock as she studied it before fumbling it and dropping it to the ground. She went to bend down to retrieve the ring and blew out a breath of frustration as she tried to lower herself down.

"I'll get it Katherine." He said softly as he knelt down. He grabbed the ring from the floor and studied it. The metal was silver with fine leaf detailing that made up the rest of the band. Inlaid in the center was a large diamond that had several smaller diamonds around it creating the illusion of a rose.

"It was my grandmother's engagement ring." Katherine said. She reached out a hand to take it as he moved to stand. He winced in pain.

"Are you okay?" Katherine asked him, her face full of concern.

He nodded as he looked at his leg in irritation. "Just give me a minute." He said as he shifted his weight to his good leg, bending his knee so that he could stand with it instead of his bad one.

Katherine reached out her left hand to take the ring. Leonardo took her hand and studied her fingers, slipping it on her left hand ring finger. It fit perfectly. She looked at the ring and looked at him in surprise. "You won't lose it that way." He said quietly as she nodded slowly.

"You lyin' Bastard!" Raphael shouted his voice full of betrayed fury.

Leonardo looked over his shoulder in confusion as Raphael hopped over the railing and landed easily on the main floor with a heavy thud.

Leonardo's eyes widened in horror as he realized why Raphael was so angry. With himself on bended knee and sliding the ring on Katherine's finger, it looked as if he was proposing to her, which he hadn't been. He wished that he could, but he couldn't.

He managed to hastily get to his feet before Raphael's fist could connect hard with his jaw. He stumbled back a few steps, the effort sending searing pain burning up and down his thigh.

"Raph, I wasn't, I never..." He pled with his enraged brother as he looked in Katherine's direction, wondering if she had the same thought as Raphael, and believed that he had been silently asking her to marry him. Though he couldn't be sure that he hadn't been, not 100% now that he thought about it.

He looked at Katherine's face. There was something in it that gave him pause, which stopped his body from defending himself against his brother's oncoming attack. Raphael clutched the front of his shirt, pulled back his fist and froze, as if whatever expression Raphael read on his face clicked something in Raphael's red haze filled rage causing him to pause.

Raphael turned his head quickly and looked over his shoulder. Katherine had paled a mixture of pain and panic filled her face. She turned wide eyes on them. "It's early, but...but I think the baby's coming." She said in a level tone as she clutched her belly in pain.

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><p><strong>I hope everyone enjoyed and is eagerly waiting for the next chapter! =)<strong>


	24. Chapter 24

**A big giant thank you to Amonrapheonix for beta reading this chapter and for her incredible ideas, thoughts and suggestions! you rock!**

**Also a big giant thank you to Icecreampopstar, mela989898, chibiwolf33, dondena, Margui and Hellgirl-Fan1 for your awesome reviews!**

**A/N Kitten gives birth during this chapter, it is neither fast or easy so just a warning for anyone who is squeemish, but don't worry I didn't go into too much detail.;)**

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><p><span>Chapter 24<span>

**Raphael** felt his heart constrict in panic. He looked back at Leonardo who had a death grip on Raphael's upper arms. What had been a moment ago a reaction against Raphael's violence at his brother's perceived betrayal, was now being used as a support to stay upright.

"Donny!" Raphael's voice echoed through the lair as Raphael hastily pulled away from Leonardo who followed closely on his heels. He strode to Katherine and helped her walk to the couch, gently getting her to sit down. Leonardo sat beside her, taking her hand in his own as he looked up at Raphael, his face full of fear and apprehension.

"Raphael." Katherine's voice penetrated the choking fog of panic that seemed to have consumed him, causing him to freeze into immobility. "We have to time the contractions. The closer together they get the faster things will get moving. Usually women go to the hospital when the contractions are around 5 minutes apart. And Donatello and Michelangelo are not here. They are helping Casey load the baby furniture into the van. They will be back soon."

Raphael shared a look of utter horror with Leonardo. If Donatello wasn't here to deliver the baby, he and Leonardo would have to do it. He felt spots begin to dance before his eyes and he's knees begin to buckle.

"Raphael, Raphael, look at me." Katherine's voice was gentle and coaxing. "These things take time. Believe me, I don't think I am going to be lucky, or depending how you look at it, unlucky enough to just pop this baby out before Donatello gets back."

Raphael looked around him. "But what if Donny needs to do a C-section, if he isn't here..." Raphael began as Katherine touched his hand comfortingly brushing her thumb against his skin in soothing strokes.

"Donatello will only do a C-section if it is absolutely necessary. So just sit down beside me and breathe, okay." She said gently.

Raphael nodded, nervously sitting on the couch beside her, but jumping to his feet as soon as his jeans hit the couch. "I should go boil water, Leo grab some towels." He ordered as Leonardo nodded, leaping up from the couch and limping to the linen closet to get the towels. _How much water do I need?_ He wondered as he ran into the kitchen. _A pot? A kettle?_ "Leo!" He yelled as his brother limped into the kitchen, an arm full of towels. "Leo, how much water do I need?" He asked his brother in panic.

Leonardo froze. "I thought you knew what you were doing." Leonardo said in disbelief.

"I have no idea what the hell I am doing! They always boil water and get towels on TV, that's all I know!" Raphael stopped for a moment. "Is the water for the pool?"

"What pool? What are you talking about?" Leonardo asked in frazzled confusion.

"The pool April brought." He answered as he tried to remember what Katherine had told him and cursed silently for not reading the stupid book she had told him to read months ago. He had promised he would read it, but he never got around to it.

"Were you not there for the conversation where Katherine said there was no way she was giving birth in a pool of water, she didn't care how 'magical' it was supposed to be."

Raphael grabbed desperately at a thought. "Did you read the book?" He asked his brother hopefully.

"Of course I read the book." Leonardo answered promptly.

"So what do we do?" He asked, his voice rising in panic.

"I don't know, I can't remember anything! Donny was supposed to be here!" Leonardo said, his voice edged with panic.

"Leo, you're the brains, the leader...think of something!" Raphael pleaded with his brother while grasping Leonardo's shoulders and shaking him slightly.

The shaking must have clicked something in the back of Leonardo's brain because he looked at Raphael in horror."Katherine! We left Katherine alone!" Leonardo said in disbelief. Leonardo dropped the towels as he turned and headed from the kitchen as fast as possible, Raphael following quickly behind.

Katherine was sitting exactly where they had left her. She put her phone down at her side. "Your brother will be here as soon as he can. My contractions are 7 minutes apart so we are still good." Katherine said as she turned on the TV.

"What are you doing?" Raphael asked is disbelief as he tried and failed to calm his hastily beating heart.

"I have six episodes of The Vampire Diaries taped. You guys both hate the show, and I have been on bed rest for the last month, so I am going to try to catch up." She said calmly. "And while I do this, you two can refresh yourselves on the last three chapters of _What to Expect When You're Expecting_. Although Raphael I don't believe you read it the first time round. So enjoy." She said as she moved around and tried to get more comfortable.

Leonardo sat down beside her. "I'm sorry Katherine. We…we panicked." He stammered softly.

Katherine raised a finger to her lips. "Shhh...I'm trying to watch hot vampire brothers and ignore the fact that I have splitting pain radiating through my gut."

Raphael sat down gently on Katherine's other side as he fidgeted nervously. Raphael jumped up. "I'm sorry Kitten, I'm sorry...I can't sit still, do you need anything? A pillow, a blanket, are you cold, are you too hot, do you need something to eat, drink?"

Katherine pointed the controller at the TV pausing her show. "Raphael, do me a huge favour and go boil some water."

Raphael nodded. _He could do that._ "How much?" He asked.

"A kettle. Go make your brother some tea."

Raphael nodded and walked to steps from the couch. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He walked back to the couch and sat back down. He could do this. If Leonardo could calm himself down, then damn it, so could he.

"Okay, I am going to watch this show. I am going to squeeze your hand every time I have a contraction. You tell me when I am at 5 minutes apart, okay?" She said as she un-paused her show and took Leonardo's hand as well as his own.

"Okay Kitten." He said softly as Leonardo nodded his understanding.

How much of her show she was actually able to watch and enjoy Raphael really didn't know, but her contractions hit 5 minutes just as she was watching the second episode. Raphael and Leonardo shared a look of desperation as both of their gazes strayed towards the silent garage, hoping desperately to hear the sound of the Truck entering, signalling Donatello's return, but the lair remained silent. .

"Maybe we should try some meditation techniques." Leonardo suggested gently as he shared a concerned look with Raphael.

"Where the hell is Donny?" Raphael hissed angrily, clenching his hands into fists so tight that they looked as if they were about to pop through skin at any moment.

Leonardo gave him a quelling glare so he shut his trap. "Just breathe in and out Katherine. Breathe through the pain okay?" Leonardo said soothingly.

Katherine nodded as she closed her eyes and began breathing in and out.

Raphael heard the running of feet on stone. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Donny!" He yelled as he got to his feet.

"I'm here." Donatello said as he ran into the living room.

"We have five minutes apart Donny." Leonardo informed Donatello.

"Okay." Donatello said with a nod as he knelt down in front of Katherine. "How do you feel?" Donatello asked her gently.

"Not the worst I have ever felt." She answered truthfully.

"Okay, we need to see if the contractions are consistent. So for the next half hour we will keep timing them, okay? I am just going to get my lab ready. April and Mikey are on their way."

Katherine nodded.

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> watched Raphael pace back and forth in agitation. His brother was supposed to be getting more ice chips, but had begun to get so agitated that Leonardo had refused to let him anywhere near Katherine.

"You aren't helping, Raphael." Leonardo growled.

"Five minutes, 8 minutes , 4 minutes. They are so inconsistent. She started last night at 6:00 pm and now it is 5 pm. It has been almost 24 hours! She didn't sleep at all last night, she hasn't eaten. She's in pain Leo, and it's only getting worse and we can't do anything to help her." He said in agonized frustration.

"Raph, you have to calm down." Leonardo said comfortingly, even though the same worries crowded his own mind. "Did you sleep last night? Have you eaten yet today?"

Raphael sighed. "I nodded off a few times last night, and I can't eat. My stomach feels like a lump of lead sitting in my gut." Raphael said clutching at his stomach. "How is she?"

"Tired, frustrated and in pain." He said as Leonardo looked towards the lab where he had left Katherine half an hour ago.

"Donny thinks that her hip are too narrow." Raphael said his voice laced with worry. "But he decided to try breaking her water to see if that would speed the process up, but that was 7 hours ago and there hasn't been any change." Raphael said in worried frustration.

"I know Raph, but you are not helping her by pacing, and being agitated and angry."

Raphael nodded. "I know." He said as he grabbed some ice from the freezer. He smashed the bag breaking the chunks of ice into bite sized pieces. "I'm not good at waiting Leo. The thing is, I'm scared to death. I'm scared that Kitten isn't going to make it, that the baby isn't going to make it, and if Kitten is fine and the baby is fine then that means I could be a father and I don't know if I can handle it." He said quickly in one beg breath his words almost tumbling together.

Leonardo closed his eyes and nodded his head. "I know Raph. I feel the same way." He said as he placed a comforting hand on Raphael's shoulder. He tried to comfort his brother by changing the subject. "Mikey's doing good. I thought he was going to be worse." Leonardo observed.

"That's because nothin's happened yet." Raphael grumbled.

"Raph!" Mikey shouted as he ran from the lab.

"Spoke too soon, Leo." Raphael said wryly, the slight smile vanishing from his face as he took in Michelangelo's pale features.

"Kitten is dehydrated, you need to get the ice in there right away, and, and...Kitten said I needed to boil water." Mikey said in agitation hopping from one foot to the other.

Leonardo shared a look with Raphael. If Katherine was kicking Michelangelo out, it meant that she was getting worse.

Raphael ran back into the lab, Leonardo grabbed the cup of ice chips his brother had forgotten on the counter and entered the lab on his brother's heels.

Katherine was standing facing the wall her body slumped slightly forward, her arm covering her face.

April was talking softly to her as she gently rubbed Katherine's lower back. Leonardo's worried eyes sought out Donatello who was sitting at his work bench looking worried and exhausted.

Raphael went to talk to Katherine while Leonardo decided to talk to Donatello to find out what was going on.

"Donny?" He asked his brother softly.

"Her contractions are 3 minutes apart. She's just started her second phase of labour. This could last two to three hours on average. She's breathing well through the pain, but it's pretty bad, and I can't do anything for her to help her with it." Donatello said with a shake of his head as he ran a shaky hand over his tired features.

Leonardo glanced at Katherine's back nervously. "Is it supposed to take this long Donny?"

"It can. So far it hasn't stopped, it is just very slow." Donatello informed him.

Leonardo nodded. "But…"

"But I don't feel I can let her go on much longer." Donatello said cutting him off. "After 28 hours if nothing has progressed I'll have to do a C-section. At the moment I can't tell if the baby is in distress or not." He said with worry. "But I don't want to risk a C-section until absolutely necessary. I don't…I don't want the same thing that happened to you, happen to her." Donatello said quietly.

Leonardo's eyes widened. He realized that Donatello was scared to perform any more surgeries because of Leonardo's brush with blood poisoning. "Donny, there is no guarantee that the same thing would happen to Katherine." Leonardo insisted.

"There is no guarantee that it wouldn't." Donatello mumbled.

Michelangelo ran back into the lab with a hot water bottle. He gave the hot water bottle to April who placed it on Katherine's back.

"She has really bad back labour pain. It's making it worse. Katherine asked Mikey to go and get her a hot water bottle." Donatello said softly.

Leonardo nodded. Katherine really had asked Michelangelo to go boil water for a reason as opposed to getting him out of her way.

Donatello took the ice chips from Leonardo's unresisting hand. "She's getting lightheaded because she is dehydrated. She needs to eat more ice chips but I don't think she is going to."

"I'll try to get her to eat some." Leonardo said as he took the ice chips back and walked towards Katherine. Her face was still buried in her arms as she leaned against the wall.

"Katherine." He tried as Raphael moved out of the way, a worried expression on his face.

Katherine made a slight sound that may have been an intake of breath or a cry of pain that was sharply cut off.

April held the water bottle to Katherine's back as she supported Katherine as best as she could. "You're doing good." April said softly. "Just breathe through it."

Leonardo heard a soft sob that was quickly choked back. Leonardo realized then how helpless he really was. There was absolutely nothing he could do to help.

Katherine, and nothing he could do to ease her pain as the enormity of Katherine's pregnancy finally truly struck him.

April gave a slight nod, indicating he could try talking to her again. "Donny says you need to eat more ice."

Katherine sniffed and moved her arm so he was able to see her face. She was deathly pale, and although it didn't look like she had been crying, she looked exhausted and was obviously in a great deal of pain. She closed her eyes and buried her head in her arm again.

For the next three hours all Leonardo could do was stand there and watch. She could talk for a few minutes between the contractions. He, Raphael and Mikey all tried to distract her, make her smile and generally just try to keep her mind off the clock and her pain.

By the time three hours had passed she was no longer able to stand at the wall. Instead she was crouched against the wall, hoping gravity would help.

They had managed to get her to the table so Donatello could check her, but she wanted to go back to the wall. "You're doing good Katherine, you are 7 cm dialated." Donatello told Katherine, and then turned his attention to Leonardo, his brother's and April. "Raph, you're the strongest, when the time comes I need you to sit on the table with Katherine between your legs. Hold her upright. Mikey and April I need you two to hold her legs and help her push against you. Leo, you and Raph keep her calm and talk to her, okay?"

They all nodded but Donatello's words did not ease Leonardo's concern, instead it grew with each strained expression on Katherine's face during each pain filled contraction. Leonardo felt his heart constrict in his chest as he continued to watch Katherine suffer in agony for the next hour. Raphael had gone very quiet, his nerves completely frayed and on edge.

Another hour passed and Katherine was helped up onto the table, Raphael at her back. Michelangelo and April were at the ready. "Raph, Leo, let go of her hands, she'll break them!" April said in panic as Katherine winced in pain and choked back a sob.

Leonardo looked at his hand in Katherine's. "Our hands are stronger than a human's hand..." Leonardo began as he felt his bones begin to creak as Katherine squeezed them in pain as another brutal contraction ripped through her. The thought that Katherine could very well break his and Raphael's hands suddenly became apparent.

April ran from the lab and returned a moment later with a stuffed animal.

"Binky!" Michelangelo said in shock as April handed the bunny to Katherine. Katherine took the bunny without a word as she let go of Leonardo and Raphael's hands.

Michelangelo looked at his stuffed bunny in apprehensive horror, as another contraction wracked her body and the bunny suffered the brunt of her punishment.

Katherine lay against Raphael, her face drenched in sweat, clutching the poor stuffed rabbit desperately. She tried to stifle her cries, but it had been hours upon hours since her labour had first started and she was unable to contain her cries of agony any longer as each new contraction ripped through her body.

"Donatello!" Katherine said desperately. "I need to push, I need to push."

"Don't push." Donatello ordered, "It's too soon."

Tears were streaming down her face now as Raphael tried to keep Katherine still and calm. Raphael's voice wavered as he talked gently to her, tears wet his red mask as he held her tight.

"Donatello!" Katherine plead.

"Don't push!" Donatello told her sternly.

"This is the worst part." April said, "It will be over soon."

"You can do this." Leonardo said encouragingly.

"No I can't." Katherine said shaking her head as she winced in pain.

"Yes, you can." Raphael said gruffly from behind her.

"We don't have any girls names yet." Katherine said shaking her head wildly, the tears slowly renewing their progress down her pale cheeks. "We haven't decided on any names yet." Katherine's voice rose in panic.

"You can name the kid whatever you want Katherine." Raphael quickly replied, " Annachie, Nix, I don't care." His brother's face buried against Katherine's neck. "Okay Kitten, just...just hang in there. Please" Raphael whispered quietly.

Leonardo had no objection. Katherine could name the baby Annachie or Nix and he _didn't_ care, because at this moment, he just wanted her to stay strong and for her to be okay.

After what felt like forever but was probably closer to ten minutes Donatello finally told Katherine that she could push.

Katherine's screams of pain shattered every nerve left in Leonardo's body leaving him feeling frayed and shaking. He was following April's lead, gently talking and encouraging Katherine as best as he could, but the minutes had been ticking by and it had been over an hour.

Michelangelo and April grunted with effort as they helped to support Katherine's legs as she pushed, her back arching forward as she gripped the sheet a scream of agony issuing from her lips.

Katherine strained against each contraction with Donatello's urging, but it didn't seem as if any progress was being made other than to push Katherine to the very edge of exhaustion.

"Push now, push hard!" Donatello yelled.

Katherine strained, but with a shake of her head she fell back against Raphael  
>"She's too weak." April said with fear and worry. "She can't push hard enough."<br>"Katherine you have to push harder." Donatello commanded.

"I can't." Katherine said with a shake of her head as frustrated, pain filled tears ran down her pale cheeks.

"Katherine, you _HAVE_ to push. If you don't you're baby is going to die." Donatello said gently but firmly. Leonardo caught the underlying message in Donatello's words. Katherine would die as well if she didn't push.

Katherine nodded with a choked sob as another contraction forced her forwards.

"Now, Katherine! Now! Push! Push as hard as you can!" Donatello urged.

Katherine drew upon her dwindling reserves, taking a deep breath she pushed.

"The baby's crowning," Donatello said with a smile but then he paled slightly.

"Donny!" Raphael shouted, seeing the colour fade from his brother's skin.

Donatello looked stunned as he looked at Katherine. "From the ultrasound I thought the baby was more human, but I was never able to get the machine working again but...I could be wrong." Donatello said the words tumbling from his mouth in a rush. "The baby could have a shell and that means the shell could slice through tissue causing her to haemorrhage."

"Donny!" Michelangelo shouted in horror.

Donatello quickly looked down and paled even more. "She's haemorrhaging, but I don't know if it is because the birth canal has been sliced, or if it is because of uterine inertia, or any number of other conditions." Donatello said in panic, obviously wracked with indecision.

Whether Katherine was listening to what was going on around her or not Leonardo wasn't sure because she hadn't said what she wanted to do.

Leonardo looked at Katherine's pale face. She was so pale that he could see the delicate blue lines of her veins across her cheeks. Her eyes were glazed and half closed.

Donatello was paralyzed by his own fear, and the rest of them had no idea what to do. "Katherine." Leonardo tried to get her attention. "You have to do this, okay." He said as he took her hand. If she broke it, he didn't care. Raphael took her other hand as Binky sat nestled in the crook of her arm.

Donatello seemed spurred back into activity. "Katherine I need you to push two really good pushes okay?" He said to her. Katherine nodded as she closed her eyes. "If...if she can't push the baby out, I...I'll do a C-section." Donatello said softly as they waited for the next contraction, and Leonardo watched in alarm as the blood slowly seeped into the sheets and spread across the table.

"Mikey don't you dare pass out!" Donatello barked sharply as Leonardo looked to Michelangelo whose face was a pallid grey-green. Michelangelo closed his eyes, took a deep breath and nodded. "Push!" Donatello ordered as Katherine took a deep breath, and with a long, teeth gritting muscle straining push.  
>"Good Katherine, good," Donatello encouraged. "The head is showing, one more just like that!" Donatello said in a shaking voice.<p>

Katherine nodded and pulling strength and energy from reserves she probably didn't have, she gave another tremendous push. She screamed in effort and in pain finally collapsing against Raphael, exhausted by her labour.

Donatello pulled the bloody bundle out, and quickly wrapped the baby in a towel. He extractied a gob of mucus with his finger he laid the newborn on Katherine's stomach. He thumped the baby's feet the infant's mouth opening and a loud squall announced the child's discomfort. "It's a boy." Donatello announced with a shaky smile as he tied a string around the umbilical cord.

"Mikey, cut the cord." Donatello ordered as Michelangelo quickly complied.

"He looks good." Donatello said beaming with pride. "Two arms, two legs, six fingers, four toes and a shell."

Leonardo looked at the bundle on Katherine's chest and felt overwhelmed with awe and wonder. The baby's skin was wrinkly and a dark green, nearly black, and his slightly opened eyes were a dark indigo blue.

"Be very careful," Donatello warned. "His shell is very soft, and we have to keep him very warm. April if you could take him and get him cleaned up." Donatello said as he went to quickly whisk him away.

"To...Toshiro." Katherine said weakly. "His name is Toshiro Shade Carin Hamato-Wraith." She said as she closed her eyes, her body going limp against Raphael's as Donatello quickly but gently gave Toshiro to April.

"K...Katherine!" Raphael shouted in panic feeling Katherine's limp body against him.

Michelangelo's face paled as April gingerly held Toshiro in her arms. Leonardo felt the blood drain from his face.

Donatello shakily reached out and checked her pulse. "I'm exhausted, not dead." Katherine whispered weakly upon feeling Donatello's fingers upon her neck.

"Her pulse is weak." Donatello reached over and wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her arm. "Blood pressure is low." He unwrapped the cuff. "But his shell was very soft so I don't think it caused any internal bleeding and the haemorrhaging has stopped. She needs some fluids, food and rest." Donatello pronounced with obvious relief.

"And a hot shower." Katherine mumbled as Raphael squeezed her tightly, Leonardo wrapping his arms around both his brother and Katherine. "You did good." Leonardo said with a waver in his voice as he felt his own tears wet his mask.

"Help her." Donatello said to Raphael and Leonardo. "We'll clean Toshiro up and make sure that he is okay. He's scored well on his initial APGAR test. But I need to perform another one. His skin should lighten once he gets more oxygen into his system."

Leonardo and Michelangelo helped Katherine from the table as Raphael slid forward pulling the cramps from his legs.

Raphael then scooped Katherine up in his arms and headed towards the bathroom. Leonardo was tempted to stay with Toshiro, but knew that Raphael would need his help with washing Katherine, and she needed him as well.

Between Raphael and himself they managed to get Katherine into the shower, get her washed, dried and bundled into Raphael's room where Michelangelo, April and Donatello were waiting. They had moved a cradle into the room as well as some baby supplies.

Michelangelo was gently holding Toshiro and gazing down at him with a smile on his face. "I'm your uncle Mikey." Michelangelo cooed softly. "But you probably want to meet your daddy." Michelangelo said as he looked between Raphael and Leonardo. "Or I guess daddies." Michelangelo said with a shrug. "You look a little like daddy Leo, if daddy Leo were darker, but that expression on your face is all daddy Raph." Michelangelo said with a chuckle as he handed the bundle to Leonardo.

Leonardo gently took Toshiro in his arms and wondered if he was really his son. Toshiro's skin had lightened to slightly lighter than Raphael, but his skin was still a rich dark green. If there was any human in Toshiro, Leonardo couldn't see it. The shape of the baby's skull was slightly more round than his own. He opened the blanket to get a better look at the rest of the baby. He looked at the bed and walked over to it, gently placing Toshiro beside Katherine. He gently opened the blanket and the yellow sleeper someone had put him in. He had a dark yellow plastron interrupted by his umbilical cord, two toes on each foot and three fingers on each hand. Leonardo rolled Toshiro slightly to the side and studied the narrow, dark brown carapace. Leonardo frowned slightly as he noticed that Toshiro's skin was slightly darker along the backs of his legs arms and shoulders. Leonardo quickly wrapped Toshiro back up and gave the bundle to Raphael who was sitting on the bed, his back against the headboard his arm around Katherine's shoulders.

Raphael's eyes widened in surprise as he carefully took Toshiro."Congratulations Leo." Raphael said softly as he pulled Toshiro in close to his body, his cheek touching Toshiro's much smaller one.

Leonardo frowned at his brother in confusion.

"It doesn't matter who the father is." Katherine said softly as she gently took Toshiro from Raphael's arms. She snuggled down into the bed and lay him in the crook of her arm. She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

"Mikey, April, can you watch them for a few minutes." Raphael said as he slid from the bed.

"Come on Leo, Donny."

Raphael walked into the hall, gently closing the door when both Leonardo and Donatello finally exited the room.

Raphael took a deep breath as Leonardo massaged his thigh. It was stiff and sore from standing for so long, but he figured it was nothing compared to the pain Katherine had just suffered through.

"He's lighter than me Leo, he's obviously yours, and Kitten named him Toshiro, she knows it too." Raphael said softly, his chin down, his eyes in shadow.

Leonardo didn't know what to say. He couldn't deny what Raphael had said was true. "But he is darker than me Raph." Was all Leonardo could think to say. He wanted Toshiro to be his. He wanted it with all of his heart, but at the same time he couldn't bear to look of devastation that had crossed Raphael's features before he tried to hide his hurt.

"Kitten doesn't care who the father is." Donatello reminded them softly.

"We can't both be with her forever Donny." Raphael said angrily. "The better turtle won. I can except that." His voice was soft but bitter.

"Did you two ever think that this might not be the time to be doing this?" Donatello asked them in exasperation.

"I can't be with her and know that she had Leo's kid Donny. I just can't." Raphael said with a shake of his head.

"She still needs both of you, and both of you need her." Donatello pointed out reasonably.

"Donny..." Raphael began but Donatello cut him off.

"Just because his skin is lighter doesn't mean he isn't yours Raph. You have to remember that there are recessive _and_ dominant genes." Donatello told him. "And besides this, he is half human, even though he doesn't really look like he is. There are some small morphological differences between him and us, but it is possible that these differences may become more apparent when he gets older."

"So do a DNA test Donny." Raphael growled.

"But Katherine doesn't care." Donatello protested.

"But we do Donny." Raphael said roughly. "So do one. That way we will know who the father is, and one of us will be able to back off."

"You two both deserve to be that baby's father." Donatello hissed lowly. "You both supported her in there and helped her pick names and helped her through being pregnant these past four months. If Katherine wants both of you to be the father, then both of you should be the father, regardless of whose DNA he carries."

"Donny," Leonardo began softly. "Please run the DNA test."

Donatello looked from Leonardo to Raphael and back again. "Fine, but it is going to take me a while. It isn't like on CSI where the results are instant. I'll need a sample from both you and Raph. I already took some of Toshiro's blood, so I don't need a sample from him and I already have Katherine's sample as well." Donatello said curtly. "But if Katherine decides to have nothing to do with either of you after she finds out, don't blame me." Donatello said as he stalked down the stairs.

Raphael put his hand on the door to his bedroom. "I won't hate you if he's yours Leo. I will be happy for you, but it doesn't mean I won't be jealous of you." Raphael said as he turned the doorknob and walked through the door.

Leonardo reluctantly followed, as he limped heavily towards the bed. Raphael stopped and put an arm under Leonardo's arms helping him towards the bed. "Thanks Raph." He murmured softly.

April was sitting in the chair by the bed while Mikey had curled up next to Katherine and Toshiro.

Michelangelo was snoring softly, Binky was laying beside Toshiro. Leonardo looked at Toshiro whose skin had smoothed and lightened to almost Michelangelo's shade. It was possible that Toshiro really was his, and if he was he would be ecstatic, but at the same time he wasn't sure if he would be able to live with the guilt of having done that to Raphael.

"I'll stay for the night." April said as she stood. "I think we all could use a rest. I'll sleep on the couch downstairs." April said as she stood and leaned over to wake Michelangelo up.

"Just leave him April." Raphael said as he deposited Leonardo on the edge of the bed.

"It won't be the first puppy pile or turtle pile Katherine has had to sleep through. Knowing Donny he'll wander in here later as well." Raphael grumbled as he walked over to the side of the bed Michelangelo was on.

April nodded. "Goodnight then." She said with a wave as she gently closed the door behind her as she left.

Raphael climbed over Michelangelo and settled himself between Katherine's legs, his head resting on Katherine's less rounded stomach. Raphael was looking at Toshiro. He gently reached out and brushed a finger across Toshiro's velvety soft cheek. "There is part of me that really doesn't care if you are Leo's." Raphael whispered so softly Leonardo could almost have been mistaken in hearing the words.

Raphael closed his eyes his arm gently wrapped around Katherine's arm and Toshiro's body.

Leonardo smiled slightly as he lay on Katherine's other side resting his head upon Katherine's shoulder as he snuggled in as close to her as he could."And there is part of me that doesn't care if you are Raph's." Leonardo whispered. Whether Raphael heard Leonardo wasn't sure. Leonardo closed his eyes and fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> slid from the pile of turtles that crowded her bed. She felt as if she could sleep for a week. Toshiro's soft cries had elicited no movement at all from the men piled on the bed. Everyone was so exhausted that they slept more soundly than they normally would. She looked at the pile of men on her bed and smiled. How they had managed to fit four grown turtles, a baby turtle, and one human woman into a queen sized bed she would never know, but they had. She gently pick the fussing baby up.

"Somebody is hungry and stinky." She said softly as she picked up her phone and silently left the room. She walked to Toshiro's, formerly Leonardo's bedroom and closed the door quietly behind her. She looked at her son with something akin to awe. "I don't think your daddies are going to be very helpful if they can't wake up when you begin to fuss. But I suppose it's a good thing Uncle Donny says you can have milk and formula, so at least I can wake them up and kick them out of bed if I want." She said wryly.

She changed Toshiro and settled into a chair to feed him. "I suppose I could have named you Shade, but I think you look like a Toshiro and I think daddy Raphael will agree. Though I can imagine that when you get older you will tell us that you want to be called Shade." She said to Toshiro who was greedily eating.

She finished feeding him, burped him and rocked him back to sleep. When she had finished these tasks she took out her cell phone. "I think Grandma will want a picture, what do you think?" She asked quietly as she took a picture and sent a text to her mother. She sent one more text before she went back to bed and settled back amongst the brothers in the bed.

* * *

><p><strong>Deon<strong> heard his phone buzz. He groaned and looked at the clock. It was 1:00am. He picked up the phone, read the text and frowned. He didn't bother sending a text back to Katherine, instead he sent a text to Barry.

* * *

><p><strong>I know, I know, I am an evil, evil author because I still haven't revealed who the father is. Next chapter, I promise! <strong>

**Any guesses on who the father is though?**

**Also I am taking a poll, what should happen? Should Kitten choose? Should she choose Leo? Raph? or stay with both?**

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome and highly encouraged!**


	25. Chapter 25

**I would like to than Amonraphoenix as always for beta reading this chapter and for her lovely suggestions and ideas;)**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers Chibiwolf33, Hellgirl-Fan1, Diana Fay, dondena, mela989898, Kaaayyytteee, Margui, and Daisy. Than you so much for your reviews and for your thoughts and opinions=)**

**And I will apologize for the shortness of the chapter, but it seemed like a good place to end it, so please enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter 25<span>

**Mr. White** studied the black and white surveillance photograph that had been slipped under his door nearly two months ago.

Katherine Brooks, or as she was legally know, Katherine Wraith, was still alive and well. He had no idea how she had managed to defuse the bomb that had been strapped around her neck or survive the massive explosion, but she had. Which meant that somehow the four freaks were probably still alive as well. Though they had managed to stay low, Katherine had emerged out of hiding. Of course Katherine was his problem not the freaks. A single white business card had fluttered from the envelope to land at his feet. On the card was nothing but a number. Curious, he had dialled the number and a digitally distorted voice who had called himself 'Mr. Green' had offered him a deal. Mr. Green would kill Katherine Wraith if, after her death had been confirmed and verified by The Face himself, Mr. White promised to put in a good word for him with The Face.

Mr. Green had then said that he wanted The Face to contact him immediately after Katherine's death had been verified. Mr. White had readily agreed to the plan. Mr. White was of course no fool. He realized that if Mr. Green did indeed manage to kill Katherine Wraith, that Mr. White's own position would be forfeit, and his life as well. So he planned to rid himself of his competition by tracking Mr. Green's phone while Mr. Green was busy talking with The Face.

Mr. White also knew that going to his boss and telling him that he had failed would lead to possible unpleasantness for him, but going in with a plan would possibly lessen the chances of his face ending up displayed on a mannequins head.

Mr. Green had then given him a date and a time when Katherine's death would occur and then hung up.

The Face had of course been furious when shown the picture of Katherine walking into a convenience store, but had agreed to the hiring of the outside assassin.

Mr. White let out a growl of irritation. He didn't know how she had managed to get in his head and make him afraid of his own shadow. Mr. White straightened his coat and smiled, but he no longer cared, because tonight was the night she died.

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><p><strong>Karai<strong> tapped her foot in irritation as she waited at the cafe. She was confused at the message she had received from the man who had bid on the sword she had placed up for auction at the museum fundraiser. He had said he found the quality of the item to be misrepresented and he wanted to give it back to her. He expected no monetary return, since the funds were given to charity, but he had said that he could not bear to have such an inferior item in his collection. She had been furious, but he had insisted on setting up a meeting at the tiny corner coffee shop outside of her headquarters. She had reluctantly agreed, if only to give him a piece of her mind.

"It is a pleasure to see you again. Ms. Saki." A smooth, pleasant voice greeted her.

She looked up at a man who she thought she _should _know, but whose face she could not place. He watched her from behind dark glasses, his hair covered by a light grey fedora, his face partially hidden beneath scruffy reddish stubble.

"I wished to return this item to you for the reasons I mentioned in our previous conversation." He said as he lay the sword in front of her on the small circular table. She opened her mouth to reply when he bowed slightly and touched the brim of his hat. "It was nice seeing you. Take care now." And with that he strode away.

Karai turned around angrily in her chair, furious at being treated this way, but the man was already exiting the shop.

Irritated and confused she turned back around and looked at the fine antique sword sitting on the table. A small square of white caught her eye as she pried the folded piece of paper from the hilt of the sword.

She discreetly unfolded the note and read the words. She frowned in confusion, committed the lines to memory and placed the paper in her tea, throwing the contents in the trash as she exited the shop, taking the sword with her.

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><p><strong>Barry<strong> walked swiftly towards the taxi that would drop him off at his car, which he had parked several blocks away. He had set his pawn in motion, he just hoped that Karai Saki would move the way he wanted her to.

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><p><strong>Michelangelo<strong> made a silly face as Toshiro looked down at him as he held the two month old baby up above his head. _I can't believe it's been two months already!_ _I've been an uncle for two months and it's been the most wonderful, amazing experience that I have ever had._ He thought happily to himself. "Should we go find your daddies, yes we should, because someone is stinky." He said wrinkling his snout in playful disgust. Toshiro giggled, his large amber eyes staring at Michelangelo's snout. "Uncle Mikey wants to start his movie night. Yes he does." He cooed. "Tonight's movie marathon is all the Classic monster movies; Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, The Creature From the Black Lagoon. And when you get older Uncle Mikey is going to show you all of them. Yes I will." He cooed. "But first, if you really loved your Uncle Mikey you'll pee on your daddy Leo," He whispered conspiratorially. "Because it really would only be fair since you already peed on daddy Raph and that was hilarious. Yes it was. Yes it was!" Michelangelo said with a devilish grin as he picked up the bag of baby supplies.

"You really shouldn't encourage him." Katherine said from the doorway, a teasing smile on her face.

Michelangelo grinned at Katherine over his shoulder.

"And how is my little man?" She cooed to her son as she walked up to them.

"Stinky." Was Michelangelo's prompt reply as Katherine chuckled. "We were just on our way to find daddy Raph and Leo."

Katherine nodded as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"You going for a shower?" Michelangelo asked as Katherine took Toshiro from his arms.

"Yep." She said with a smile. Michelangelo knew that Katherine had been in their training room trying to take off the 'baby' weight. Where there was still baby weight on her, he didn't know, she looked stunning as always, even as tired and bedraggled as she was, with her face flushed, her shoulder length silver hair falling out of her ponytail, and sweat glistening on her body.

"Most women would hate you, you know. I think there is a law about not even looking like you had a kid two months ago." Michelangelo pointed out as Katherine nuzzled Toshiro's snout with her nose.

"Uncle Mikey's funny, isn't he Shiri?" She asked smiling lovingly at her son. "But I think daddy Leo needs to be peed on too." She said with a smile as she gave Toshiro back to Michelangelo. "And I blame my mother and her ridiculously good genes, being in a coma for over 3 months, and the fact that I barely get to even hold Shiri or spend time with him because it is more like he has four fathers all squabbling over him, so I probably have a lot more time than most mothers do." Katherine said with a wide grin. "So are you watching your movies tonight Michelangelo?" Katherine asked him.

Michelangelo grinned widely. "Yes I am. I am hoggin' the TV all night! I was just telling Shiri about it and telling him that when he gets old enough I am going to show him all the great movies I watch." Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Okay not all of them, but these are Classics Kitten. Dracula with Bela Lugosi, Frankenstein with Boris Karloff! Classic!"

Katherine smiled at his excitement. "Well have fun, you deserve it." She said as she gave Michelangelo a quick hug and a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Michelangelo, for everything." She said softly as she pulled away.

Michelangelo looked down at her. "You okay Kitten?" He asked softly a flicker of concern riding over his face.

She seemed to think about the question for a moment. "I will be Michelangelo, I will be." She said softly with a smile as she walked towards the bathroom.

Michelangelo felt strangely uneasy about Katherine's answer, but turned and walked to Donatello's lab without finding out more about Katherine's cryptic answer. The door to Donatello's lab was closed but he knew his brother's had to be in there since he had checked everywhere else.

He opened the door and the room suddenly went silent. He looked at his three brothers. Raphael looked furious and was standing with his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against a table, Leonardo was sitting in a chair his face set into disapproving lines and Donatello stood beside his computer looking frustrated and irritated.

"Get in here Mikey, and close the door." Raphael snapped. "Where's Kitten?"

"Having a shower." Michelangelo answered as he frowned at his brothers.

"Good."Raphael grunted.

"What's going on?" Michelangelo asked as he stepped further into the room.

"Donny here isn't sharing the DNA test with us." Raphael said in frustration.

Donatello let out a huff of irritation. "I told you Raph, the results took longer than I thought they were going to."

"It's been two months Donny." Leonardo put in softly. "We've waited long enough for an answer."

"This isn't going to solve anything." Donatello protested. "You two have both been acting like Toshiro's father."

"By that theory we would all be Toshiro's father." Raphael cut in harshly. Raphael closed his eyes, took in a deep calming breath and breathed out, opening his eyes slowly. "All of us act like he is ours and that's great. But Donny, me an' Leo need to know. He's got my eyes Donny, and I know he ain't as dark as me, but if he's mine I want to know. Please."

Michelangelo looked at all of his brothers in worry as he set Toshiro down on Donatello's work bench and began changing him while his brothers continued to talk.

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><p><strong>Deon<strong> looked at the woman who crawled into the backseat of his car. "Are you sure about this?" He asked her.

Katherine looked at him with her disturbingly direct green eyes as she pulled on the wig with the golden, brown and reddish locks that curled and waved around her shoulders and down her back in a glorious waterfall. "Yes." She said with grim determination as she finished pulling on the rest of her clothing.

Deon frowned in worry but gave a curt nod of understanding as he pulled into traffic.

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><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> watched as Donatello looked back and forth between himself and Raphael. Donatello finally nodded, sat down heavily on his computer chair and took out a manila folder that had been hidden in amongst a pile of papers and magazines. "It took me so long to run the tests because as I said, there were issues with what I thought were the samples and contamination. So I did an in-depth DNA profile on all of us to make sure the samples were good and not contaminated."

"Donny, just tell us who the father is." Raphael interrupted with a low growl of impatience growing in his chest.

"Raph, have you ever wondered if any of us are actually related by blood?" Donatello asked softly.

Leonardo felt his eyes widen in surprise and shock as he quickly glanced at all of his brothers. He had never wondered if they were all related by blood because it didn't matter. They were all brother's in the truest sense of the word.

Raphael frowned. "Not really." He admitted slowly "You're my brothers period, end of story."

"So then if Katherine says that you are his father..." Donatello began.

"Because it matters." Raphael said firmly.

Donatello sighed and then nodded. "I ran a DNA test on all of us. We are all related by blood, but we aren't biologically full brothers. We all have the same mother, but Mikey and Raph are the only two who have the same father. My father and Leo's fathers are different."

Leonardo nodded. It still didn't matter, though it was nice to know that they were all related by blood, even if all of them were not full brother's.

Leonardo watched as Michelangelo finished changing Toshiro's diaper. Michelangelo quickly did up the sleeper and wrapped Toshiro back up in a blanket a frown on his face as he quietly completed his task.

Toshiro still had to be kept very warm, but his shell had hardened so there was no longer the worry of damaging the soft shell.

"Okay Donny," Leonardo began as he continued to study Michelangelo and Toshiro, something in the back of his mind clamouring to be heard. "So we are all related by blood, what does any of this have to do with Toshiro?" Leonardo asked in confusion.

"Am I the father or not?" Raphael asked with a growl, his amber eyes narrowing into golden slits.

Donatello remained silent. Raphael closed his eyes and nodded. "Congratulations Leo, I guess you got what you wanted." Raphael said softly, a hitch of raw hurt in his voice.

Leonardo felt his eyes widen in surprise. His eyes sought out Toshiro's amber eyes, but frowned when Donatello remained silent, not confirming Raphael's conclusion.

"Donny?" Leonardo questioned in surprise.

Raphael frowned at Donatello. "So you are sayin' Leo ain't the father either?" He asked in confusion as Leonardo continued to look at Toshiro and Michelangelo.

"Not exactly." Donatello finally answered. "There were DNA markers for both you and Leo in Toshiro's DNA profile."

They looked at Donatello in confusion.

Raphael frowned. "You said that we all had the same mother." Raphael said as Donatello nodded. "But me and Leo are only half related, but me and Mikey are full brothers."

"Yes." Donatello said with a nod of his head, but a frown of confusion forming between his brow ridges.

It was then that Leonardo's eyes widened in understanding as he studied the similarities between Michelangelo and Toshiro. He closed his eyes against the evidence and the hot bile that rose in his throat at his brother's betrayal. "Donny," Leonardo began softly, his voice shaking slightly as he silently hoped that Donatello would tell him his suspicions were wrong. "The real reason you had to run DNA profiles on all of us was because you didn't get a match with me and Raph, because neither of us is Toshiro's father." Raphael turned his head sharply to look at Michelangelo, who looked at Raphael and Leonardo in confusion. "Because Mikey's the father." Leonardo concluded softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

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><p><strong>Ooooooo drama! LOL<strong>

**But is Mikey really the father? Guess you will have to read the next chapter to find out;)**

**Please read and review!**


	26. Chapter 26

**A big thank you as always to Amonraphoenix whos is the best beta reader a girl could ask for! Your devious thoughts, ideas and mad editing skills rock!;) Thank you, thank you so much!**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers Chibiwolf33, yesiamweird, dondena, Diana Fay, Kaaayyytteee, hellgirl-fan1, Icecreampopstar, mela989898, margui, moonie016 and pludoh!**

**And now, please read and enjoy!=)**

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><p><span>Chapter 26<span>

**Leonardo** looked at his baby brother grimly as he tried to swallow down the lump of betrayal and bile that had risen in his throat to choke him. "Because Mikey's the father." He concluded, his voice cracking with emotion.

Michelangelo's eyes widened in shock. He looked down at Toshiro who had almost the same colouring as he did. Michelangelo took a step back as Raphael turned and faced him, his fists clenched at his sides in white knuckled fury.

Michelangelo quickly passed Toshiro to Donatello who was looking at all of his brothers with confused worry.

"Raph..." Donatello began trying to calm Raphael down, but Raphael didn't look as if he wanted to hear anything Donatello had to say as he cut off Donatello's words.

"We overheard you talkin' with Kitten Mikey." Raphael growled. "You said that when me and Leo left, that you and Katherine were together. I just didn't think you would go behind our backs and actually have sex with our girlfriend while we were gone!" Raphael roared in betrayal as he advanced towards Michelangelo.

"No, no." Michelangelo said vehemently shaking his head back and forth. "I didn't Raph, I swear! We just were hanging out, watching movies, eating junk food..." Michelangelo defended as he took two steps back, his carapace hitting the wall. Michelangelo's eyes widened in fear as he realized that he was trapped.

Raphael's eyes darkened with rage, his body going very still and tensing. "Don't try to deny it Mikey." Raphael said sharply. "You've been trying to take Kitten away from me from the start." Raphael accused pointing a shaking finger at their baby brother.

"Raph, you have to believe me, we're just friends." He pleaded with his furious 's eyes filled with fear as if realizing that it was the wrong thing to say to Raphael.

Raphael's tense muscles bunched, and suddenly without warning he was across the room. He grabbed Michelangelo by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall. Raphael eased his grip slightly, but only enough to pull Michelangelo backwards and slam him into the wall a second time. Raphael held Michelangelo pinned to the wall in his iron grip.

"I heard you propose to her Mikey. Is that why you did it, because you thought Toshiro was yours?" Raphael hissed out from between clenched teeth. Michelangelo winced as Raphael's hand tightened on his throat.

Michelangelo didn't fight Raphael only looked at his brother, his eyes narrowing in defiance. "I would never..." He managed to rasp out.

Raphael towered over his youngest brother. "Didn't you think we would eventually figure it out? You lying, deceitful bastard!" Raphael snarled, his voice shaking with murderous fury.

Toshiro let out a sudden unhappily wail, as if he could feel the anger and tension in the room.

Toshiro's cry finally broke through Leonardo's shock and he advanced towards his fighting brothers. "Raph! Let him go!" Leonardo barked as he gripped the edge of Raphael's shirt covered carapace, trying to pull him back and away from Michelangelo before he went that step too far and hurt him worse than he already had been, or worse, killed him.

Michelangelo's face was already looking dangerously dark, his eyes beginning to glaze over.

"Raph! You're scaring Toshiro." Leonardo shouted sternly hoping to break through to his brother who was stronger than he was.

Toshiro's cries finally seemed to finally pierce through Raphael's rage as he leaned in closer to his brother his beak almost touching Michelangelo's own beak. "Some brother you are." He spat as he released Michelangelo with disgust. Raphael punched the wall beside Michelangelo's head before he turned around and headed for the door.

Michelangelo slid down the wall taking in great gasping breaths of air as he rubbed at his throat.

"Raphael!" Donatello shouted in anger as he knelt down checking Michelangelo's neck while handing Toshiro into Michelangelo's arms as his breathing and colour returned to normal. "Mikey isn't the father! You and Leo are. You are both Toshiro's father."

Raphael froze mid-step halfway to the door.

"No Donny," Leonardo began bitterly "If Mikey's the father then..."

"As in biologically!" Donatello said in frustration cutting Leonardo off. "That's why it took me so long. The results continuously concluded that Toshiro shared both of your genetic makeup. Toshiro isn't only a chimera because he has both reptile and mammal genes, but because he also has two different populations of genetically different cells that originated from different zygotes. Toshiro is the result of four initial parent cells that fused together. I should have realized it because Toshiro exhibits classic Blaschko's lines across the back of his arms and legs, except his are visible to the naked eye."

"I know you're talking English Donny," Raphael growled in angry frustration as he turned and looked Donatello in the eye. "But I didn't understand a damn thing you just said."

Donatello sighed. "When Katherine ovulated she produced two eggs. One egg was fertilized by Leo, the other by Raph. There should have been twins, each with a different father, but the two eggs fused together becoming one baby. Toshiro's skin will probably continue to lighten closer to Leonardo's skin colour, but he will retain the darker stripe-like marks that are Raphael's skin colour. That is what Blascko's lines are, the dual colouring that Toshiro has."

"Donny," Leonardo said as he tried to wrap his head around what Donatello had just told him. "You are saying that both Raph and I are the fathers, plural."

"That's what I said. You can look for yourselves if you want." Donatello said as he stood and walked over to his desk. He opened the folder and passed Leonardo the results of the test.

"Donny." Raphael said softly.

"I didn't doctor the results Raph. I tried to tell you it wouldn't change anything, you just didn't believe me." Donatello replied with an angry frustrated shrug.

"That's why Katherine..." Leonardo began.

"Katherine doesn't' know." Michelangelo interjected angrily, having recovered from Raphael's attack. Michelangelo slowly stood, his body shaking with fury. "You don't get it do you? Katherine didn't want to know because she really doesn't care. She loves you two idiots for reasons I will never understand, and she knows that you_ both_ wanted Toshiro to be yours so she gave you _both _a son. And instead of being happy about this and revelling in this amazing gift, you two have been sneaking around behind her back and got Donny to do a DNA test, and accused me and Katherine of cheating on you! For what?" Michelangelo shook his head back and forth, tears of hurt and anger brimming in his eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, neither of you deserves Katherine or Toshiro." Michelangelo held Toshiro close and turned exiting the room and closing the door with a quiet, but firm click behind him.

Leonardo closed his eyes with remorse. Because in the end, both Raphael and himself were Toshiro's father anyway. And both Donatello and Michelangelo acted like fathers towards Toshiro as well.

Leonardo looked at Raphael who looked away in shame and self disgust at what he had done and the words that had tumbled from his lips.

Raphael closed his eyes. "Looks like I'm still the monster I always thought I was." Raphael said with self loathing as he opened his eyes and looked Leonardo in the eye.

"Raph..." Leonardo began gently as he took a step towards his distressed brother but Raphael cut him off with a shake of his head.

"Mikey's right, I don't deserve her, or Toshiro, but...she's the one who keeps me from being this." He said wretchedly as he looked at his hands as if they had betrayed him somehow. "I need to apologize to Mikey. I just hope he can forgive me." He said miserably.

Leonardo limped over to Raphael and gave him a comforting squeeze on his shoulder. "I accused him first." Leonardo admitted softly.

Raphael took a deep breath his amber eyes shifting away. "I wanted to know because...I want to ask Katherine to marry me, and I couldn't if Toshiro was your kid Leo." Raphael said softly but firmly, his eyes shifting back to look into Leonardo's shocked brown gaze.

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><p><strong>Barry<strong> breathed in the warm summer air and felt the wind brush against his cheeks. He rubbed at his reddish stubble. He needed to shave, but later. His mind had been too preoccupied with the task at hand to bother with something so trivial.

He looked down at the crowd that surrounded Katherine, who stood behind the podium on the steps of the Museum of Natural History. Her voice carried and Barry was able to hear her as she extolled the virtues of her famous uncle, and her pride in the exhibit that she had some small part in being involved with.

With the fluidity that came with years of practice he quickly and efficiently assembled his rifle, attaching the scope very last. He knelt down and placed the rifle on the ledge of the building and looked through the scope. He centered his sights on the building and then lowered his gun until the cross-hairs centered upon Katherine's beating heart. The wind blew through her cascade of burnished golden curls and even though Barry could not see Katherine's flashing green eyes he knew that they would be full of, pride and laughter. And after all, it was the thought of those eyes which had led him to call himself 'Mr. Green'.

He took a quick glance at his watch confirming the time. His finger tightened on the trigger and he pulled, accepting the recoil as his due.

There was a sharp ringing sound that rent the air and caused immediate panic, as crimson bloomed starkly against the white of Katherine's dress as she crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Barry pulled away quickly from the building's edge. He swiftly packed away his rifle into his briefcase and began following his escape route, trying not to draw attention to himself as his heart beat rapidly in his chest.

Now all he had to do was wait for a very important phone call.

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><p><strong>Raphael<strong> looked at the pain that flashed through Leonardo's eyes at his pronouncement.

"We can't marry her Raph." Leonardo replied softly.

"She doesn't care about the marriage bein' legal or religious Leo, all she cares about is the ceremony. The ritual conducted in front of her friends and family, and our family and friends. That is something I can do." Raphael paused and then continued. "I'm sorry Leo. I know you want the same thing I want. I know that when you were down on one knee with Katherine that even though you weren't proposing to her, that the thought crossed your mind, because you wished that you could."

Leonardo looked at Raphael with his dark brown eyes, and it was Leonardo who looked away first, briefly nodding in acknowledgement. "I want to marry her Raph. I want to spend the rest of my life with her and I want to raise Toshiro as my own."

Donatello rose from his chair. "I'm with Mikey on this one. You two are idiots." He grumbled as he left his lab, snagging his first aid kit on the way out the door.

Raphael watched the door close behind Donatello and turned his attention back to Leonardo. "The problem is Raph, that if we fight over her or give her an ultimatum, she'll just leave."

Raphael's eyes narrowed into golden slits of anger. "It isn't fair Leo. It isn't fair to us, and it isn't fair to Toshiro. He should know that his mother loves him and that his father loves him and that his mom and dad love each other and are committed to each other. I think deep down Katherine knows this, or she wouldn't want to get married."

"But we are both his father Raph." Leonardo observed softly.

"You know what I mean." Raphael said in frustration. Leonardo looked as if he was contemplating his words before he finally nodded his agreement. "Okay Raph." Leonardo said as he stood. "We'll talk to Katherine, tell her our intentions and let her know that she has to choose between us, and that when she chooses, she won't lose the other."

Raphael gave a curt nod of acknowledgement as he headed for the door. It was then his brother stopped, a frown on his face. A feeling of wrongness slid down Raphael's spine. Raphael frowned at the feeling, brushing it off.

"Raph..." Raphael lifted an eye ridge at Leonardo as he continued to speak. "Do you think Mikey is right?" He asked softly. "Do you think we should just go on as we have been?" Leonardo questioned.

"I can't Leo." Raphael whispered. "I want to know that Kitten loves me and only me. That I am the one she wants to walk down the path of life with side by side together for the rest of our lives. It's selfish I know, but it's how I feel."

Leonardo nodded. "Raph, did you feel...?" Leonardo questioned and then shook his head. "Nothing, let's go talk to Katherine."

Raphael nodded as they exited Donatello's lab.

They found Michelangelo, his throat wrapped in white bandages, sitting on the couch next to Donatello who held Toshiro in his arms as he fed him his bottle.

"Where's Kitten, Mikey?" Raphael questioned.

Michelangelo glared at him over the back of the couch, turned back around and continued to watch his cheesy black and white monster movie.

Raphael rubbed a hand down his face as he tried to shove away the crushing shame and guilt. "I'm sorry Mikey, okay? I didn't mean to hurt you and I'm sorry I'm an ass and that I always put my big foot in my mouth and don't think before I talk." He apologized to his baby brother.

"You aren't forgiven Raph." Michelangelo said with a waver in his voice as he turned off his movie. The TV flicking back to cable. "Shiri is not your little bargaining chip, he isn't a pawn in your game. He may not understand what is going on right now, but one day he will, and if he ever finds out how you two were using him like a 'get Katherine because he is my kid' card, he won't be impressed."

Raphael closed his eyes. "I know he isn't a chip or a pawn or a card." He said as he attempted to rein in his anger for a third time tonight.

"The why don't you act like it?" Michelangelo asked. "And don't think I'm not talking to you too Leo." Michelangelo growled. "You two spent Kitten's whole pregnancy just waiting to see who the father was because you both thought that whoever the father was automatically got her. And that isn't the way it works. You two want to force her to choose. It doesn't matter how she feels, or why she feels the way she feels, you just want to make her yours and Shiri yours by default."

Raphael's eyes narrowed into angry golden slits. "I love my son Mikey." He retorted angrily.

"Then why are you trying to take Toshiro away from his father?" Michelangelo accused.

"I _am_ his father." Raphael barked.

"And so is Leo. So what are you two planning to tell Toshiro huh? I'm your daddy and this is your 'Uncle Leo', or this is your 'Uncle Raph'?"

Raphael opened his mouth and then snapped it shut because he hadn't thought that far ahead.

Donatello lifted Toshiro up to his shoulder and began burping him.

"I honestly don't know." Raphael said to Michelangelo as his anger died a swift death.

Leonardo limped over and gently sat down beside Michelangelo. "Mikey," Leonardo began gently. "We aren't going to take Toshiro away from you, or from Donny." He said softly. "You will always be an important part of his life."

Donatello held Toshiro close and Raphael was surprised by the depth of emotion that rolled around within Donatello's gaze. Raphael realized that even though Donatello seemed to be the most emotionally detached out of all of them, that they had been hurting both Donatello and Michelangelo's feelings because they both believed that if Katherine chose between himself and Leonardo, that the new family would leave the lair leaving everyone else behind.

"I don't know what would happen Mikey, Donny." Raphael said truthfully. "Would we leave the lair? Probably, but that's what happens. You grow up you leave home, you get married and start a family."

Michelangelo glared at him. "You think this is about us?" He asked with a shake of his head as he took the controller angrily in his hand and began flipping through the channels on the TV. "I just can't believe how arrogant and self centered..."

"I know Mikey!" Raphael yelled cutting him off. "I am a self centered asshole. I don't hate Katherine for not being able to choose, but by her not choosing I feel as though she doesn't really love me. Not really. Or that she...that she pities me, because she thinks that I'll never find someone else or that I will never be able to move on."

"Will you?" Michelangelo asked bitingly.

Raphael closed his eyes in misery. "No." He replied softly.

"So she's right." Michelangelo said his voice gentling slightly.

Raphael's eyes flashed open in anger. "I don't want to be pitied Mikey. If she loves me then fine, if she loves Leo more I just want her to tell me and let me go or something, so I can move on with my life." He said gruffly.

Michelangelo nodded slowly and stood. "I forgive you." He said as he pulled Raphael into a bone crushing hug, Raphael's back to the TV. "I knew she would never say yes to me Raph. I wasn't trying to steal her or hurt you and Leo, I just wanted to let her know that I am always here for her if she needs me."

"I know." Raphael said as he pulled away slightly. "I'm sorry for this." Raphael said as he gently brushed his scarred fingers across the soft white gauze around his brother's neck. "I should have never tried hurting you, even if you were Toshiro's father." Raphael said softly. "There is a small part of me that wishes that Katherine loved you the most Mikey. I know you would always treat her right, but I'm a selfish bastard, so I would try to steal her back." He admitted with a slight smile.

Michelangelo snorted and smiled, shaking his head slightly. "You're an ass." Michelangelo said with a smile that took away any sting the words may have held.

Raphael smiled at his brother his heart lightening because Michelangelo forgave him.

Michelangelo suddenly paled, his face going grey-green as he made a choking sound, his eyes widening in horror so that all of the whites were showing.

Raphael tried to turn to see what Michelangelo had seen but Michelangelo pulled him in tighter, burying his face into Raphael's neck. "Don't turn around. Please don't look." Michelangelo whispered huskily. "Please, please Raph, don't turn around." Michelangelo begged as Raphael was finally able to pull his brother away enough that he could see the tears rolling unbidden down Michelangelo's cheeks.

A wave of panic and terror rippled down Raphael's spine as he roughly pulled and struggled against Michelangelo's desperate grip. Raphael finally tore himself away, looking at the screen behind him.

Raphael couldn't understand what the woman was saying but he had caught Katherine's name. His eyes sought out the TV as he tried to read the scrolling letters that flashed across the bottom of the screen. Certain words seared themselves into his brain while others made no sense to him. The ones that his muddled brain managed to pick out were **Shot **and **Murdered.** His eyes would not look away from the screen as his ears finally began to register what the reporter was saying.

"_Katherine Brooks took up the family's name of Wraith this evening confirming that she was indeed the heir to her uncle, Carin Wraith's billion dollar fortune when tragedy struck. The horrific murder of Katherine Wraith outside of the Museum of Natural History by an unknown sniper was captured on tape earlier this evening. Due to the graphic nature of the images you are about to see, if you are at all sensitive to violence please be warned that this tape has not been edited in any way. What you will see is the senseless murder of a prominent young woman with a bright future_." The program cut to a video of a crowd of people standing around a central podium. Katherine stood taking to the crowd, a gentle yet proud smile on her face as she talked about her uncle's accomplishments and what it meant to her to be a part of her uncle's work.

A shot rang out, but even as he heard it the blood had already bloomed bright crimson on her chest. Her eyes widened in surprise, a flicker of pain passing through her eyes as a small trickle of blood trickled from between cupid's bow lips that had gently and passionately kissed him so many times before. It was then that she closed her eyes as she fell in slow motion, boneless to the ground. It took only moments, but it felt as if the moment stretched out for an eternity.

Raphael could only stare at the TV in disbelief as if his brain wasn't able to understand what his eyes told him had happened.

"_Katherine Wraith was rushed to Mt. Sinai hospital where she was declared dead on arrival, the bullet having struck her directly in the heart." _The reporter continued.

The screen flashed to a shot of the Museum of Natural History where mourners had already begun lighting candles and placing flowers close to the area that was set up around the crime scene.

"Mikey, where's Katherine?" Raphael asked hoarsely in a broken voice, unable to comprehend the events that had unfolded earlier.

Leonardo had stood, his eyes focused on the TV as he watched it with uncomprehending horror. Leonardo's eyes closed as his brother fell like a stone to his hands and knees.

Michelangelo turned stunned eyes towards him. "She...she...I thought she was sleeping Raph." Michelangelo sobbed out brokenly.

Raphael's feet pounded up the stairs as he ran to his bedroom throwing open the door. He desperately looked around the empty room. He stumbled back into the hallway as he threw open every door in the lair as he frantically searched but found no sign of Katherine anywhere.

He heard Leonardo's guttural roar of grief and pain as he accepted her death, but Raphael couldn't accept it, because she was in the lair, she had to be.

He stumbled back to the living room where Michelangelo was clutching Toshiro close, tears streaming down his brother's face. Leonardo was buried into Donatello's side as tears streamed unabated down both of his brother's cheeks. Donatello mumbled soft words as he gently rubbed his brother's shoulder trying to comfort him in his sudden grief.

"No." He said shaking his head from side to side, because Katherine couldn't be dead. It wasn't true, it couldn't be true. "It isn't true." Raphael said with disbelief. He ran to the TV snatching up the controller for the PVR and rewinding the news program. He didn't know how many times he watched the scene over and over as if by watching it he could discern some trick of the camera, or recognize that the woman who had been killed was not in fact Katherine, but someone who happened to _look_ like her. But every time he watched he knew that it had been Katherine. It was then he remembered the feeling of uneasiness in the lab. _Had that been the moment? Was that when Katherine's life had ceased and he had brushed the feeling off as if it had been unimportant?_ He asked himself in dawning horror.

He felt the controller slip through his numb fingers as the realization that Katherine had been killed finally managed to take root in his brain.

"Why?" He whispered. "**WHY!**" He roared in an agonized, grief filled rage. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his eyes drifted over his devastated brothers. Leonardo slowly stood, his eyes black with grief and guilt.

"Because she was nothing but a prisoner Raph." Michelangelo said as he bit back an angry sob. "Half a year she was trapped here with us. We managed to go out every now and then, but we never let her leave the lair, not once. I should have known." Michelangelo shook his head. "I should have known when she said that she was _going_ to be okay, but...I didn't know." Michelangelo choked out the last two words.

"Mikey." Leonardo's voice was barely audible as he shook his head as another wave of grief rolled through his oldest brother, doubling him over in misery. "I could have...We should have known, should have suspected." Leonardo said as he looked at Raphael in misery.

"Her mother."Raphael accused. "This is her fault! She talked Katherine into opening that damn exhibit!" Raphael raged as Toshiro let out an ear splitting wail of unhappiness.

Raphael looked at his son and strode over to him. He gently took his screaming son from Michelangelo's arms and held him tightly. "I'm sorry Shiri." He whispered softly. "It's my fault that you lost your mother." He said gently. "Uncle Mikey's right. He is always right, even when he doesn't know it." Raphael swallowed, but forced himself to continue. "She had to sneak out of here because we never would have let her go because it was too dangerous. It doesn't matter that she was killed because she went, because the museum was important to her." Raphael said burying his face in the blanket that swaddled his son. "I am so, so sorry that we failed her."

Buried within the depths of his grief Raphael managed to hear the screaming as it began. He lifted his eyes and watched the TV. The streets of Manhattan were in chaos as thugs with high powered riffles of some sort began terrorizing the populace.

The fires of rage that had banked low flared to life as one thought, one need consumed his very being.

His narrowed amber eyes blazed as one word burned through his mind

_Revenge_.

* * *

><p><strong>I am an evil, evil author, I know!<strong>

**Thoughts, opinions and comments are always welcomed and highly encouraged!**


	27. Chapter 27

**As always a giant thank you to Amonrapheonix for her hard work with beta reading this chapter, and for her lovely suggestions! You rock as always!**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers chibiwolf33, dondena, Hellgirl-fan1, forgottenforever, mela989898, margui, yesiamweird and Diana Fay. You guys are all awesome!**

**And now on with the story!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 27<span>

**Leonardo** stared at the TV as Raphael ran;, searching in vain for Katherine. But Leonardo knew the devastating truth. He had felt a feeling of wrongness wash over him back in the lab, but he hadn't paid any attention to it, because his mind was filled with too much worry and doubt. And now everything that he was worried about; the paternity of Toshiro, and Katherine's true feelings for him, didn't matter, because Katherine was dead. The woman he loved more than life itself had died, because he hadn't noticed that she was unhappy, or had planned to leave the lair. He knew that Katherine couldn't have stayed dead forever. He knew that one day she would have to emerge into the spotlight once again. But he hadn't thought that she would recklessly endanger her own life to do it.

Leonardo threw back his head and roared his grief. Donatello let out a choked wail of denial as Michelangelo took Toshiro from Donatello's failing grasp. Leonardo stood, sliding onto the couch and held Donatello close as Raphael stumbled back into the living room.

Leonardo closed his eyes against the news program which Raphael rewound several times over, as if watching it would somehow change the final outcome.

The controller clattered to the ground as Raphael asked the question Leonardo would ask himself over and over again, 'Why'?

Michelangelo angrily answered Raphael's question. But the truth was that it didn't matter why Katherine had done what she had done, the point was that she _had_. Leonardo slowly stood as he choked out Michelangelo's name, a wave of bitter, guilt stricken grief rolled through him like a merciless crashing wave that took his breath away and left him to feel as if he was drowning.

"I could have...I should have known, should have suspected..." Leonardo said as he looked at Raphael in utter misery.

Raphael accused Katherine's mother, but Leonardo knew the truth. Katherine would never do anything she did not want to do, no matter how much her mother pressured her to do so.

Toshiro began to cry, perhaps because Michelangelo was holding him too tightly or perhaps because he could sense that something horribly wrong had happened in his little world. Leonardo took a step towards Toshiro, to take him from Michelangelo's arms, but Raphael moved first, taking the baby and cradling him lovingly.

"I'm sorry Shiri. It's my fault tha' you don't have a mom." Raphael said gently. "Uncle Mikey's right. He always is, whether he knows it or not. She had to sneak out of here because we never would have let her go, it was too dangerous. It doesn't matter that she was killed because she went, the museum was important to her." Raphael said burying his face in the soft blanket that wrapped his son. "I am so, so sorry that we failed her...and you" Raphael choked out his voice muffled by his son's small body.

Leonardo's attention was caught by the shrill screams that began to emanate from the news program. These screams were different than the ones that had radiated out when Katherine had been killed. They were fyll of fear and panicked hysteria, not like the shock and confusion of before. He looked at the TV and saw Manhattan's streets overrun with gun toting thugs who were turning the city into a war zone.

Raphael turned his blazing , golden amber eyes towards him and Leonardo knew Raphael's thoughts; because they were the same ones that burned within his own mind and soul.

He knew that revenge would not bring Katherine back, nor would it bring his heart any comfort or satisfaction, but her death could not go unpunished or unavenged. They owed Katherine that much, and they owed it to Toshiro.

Leonardo wiped the wetness of his tears from his cheeks as he took a step forward and took Toshiro from Raphael's embrace.

"I'm sorry we failed your mother, but we won't fail you." Leonardo promised his young son.

Raphael gave a brief nod and then ordered, "Mikey, Donny, you're with me; Leo you stay here with Toshiro, in case..." Raphael cut off the sentence but Leonardo already knew the rest. '_In case we don't return.'_

Leonardo shook his head. "No." He replied solemnly.

Raphael opened his mouth to retort, but it was Donatello who spoke first. "You've only been training for a month Leo and that is only because I let you start early in the first place..." Donatello began gingerly.

"And I have trained for 23 years before that." Leonardo growled out lowly as he barely hung onto the last thread of patience from his suddenly inflamed temper.

"Your leg…" Donatello protested softly with a shake of his head.

"I refuse to sit here Donny while my brothers go topside into that warzone. I refuse to lose anyone else!" He replied ferociously as he looked at Raphael. "I treasured and loved Katherine as much as you did Raphael, and she was just gunned down in front of us in cold blood. I intend to track down whoever killed her; and I am going to make them pay for it." Leonardo snarled before he took a deep calming breath and continued, looking at Donatello. "I know I am not as fast as I used to be, but I can still fight, because I have to Donny. I need to do this..."

The squeal of tires drew Leonardo's attention from feeling Raphael's angry amber gaze burning into the back of his skull..

His brother's froze briefly before they, ran towards the garage area. Leonardo hung back holding Toshiro protectively in the circle of his arms. But before his brother's made it to the garage April came running around the corner. Her eyes were puffy from crying and her face was flushed. She ran straight into Donatello's arms.

"We came as soon as we heard. We were going to go out, but the babysitter cancelled and we were watching the news and we saw...we saw... " April choked on her words as she pulled away from Donatello and embraced Michelangelo, then Raphael.

"What's it like out there April?" Raphael asked softly.

"We managed to get most of the way here without running into any trouble, but it's really bad out there." April said with grief-stricken worry as Casey emerged from around the corner with Shadow in his arms.

"Casey, April," Leonardo began. "We need you to look after Toshiro."

April nodded. "Of course, but…" April looked at them all pleadingly. "Please be careful. Toshiro just lost his mother, he can't afford to lose any of you, and neither can we." April finished with a choked sob as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

Leonardo gave her curt nod of acknowledgement and thanks as he gave his son a light kiss on the forehead and stroked one velvety cheek briefly.

Raphael took Toshiro briefly from his arms. He said a few quiet words to his son as he nuzzled him slightly as he did so, and lightly kissed Toshiro's forehead as well before he gently passed him to April.

"Where do we even start?" Michelangelo asked softly, breaking the deathly silence that had fallen over the lair.

Leonardo thought about it for a moment, his eyes lighting up as the answer blazed through his mind. "Karai," he hissed out slowly. "We find Karai, maybe she has some information that will help us."

* * *

><p><strong>Karai<strong> was crouched low, safely hidden within the shadows of the sterile room. The pungent scent of formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde drifted through the frigid air, making it sticky and sweet.

She didn't know why she was crouched down between two filing cabinets in the crowded hospital morgue, but she hadn't been willing not to show up after the man had handed her the piece of paper that contained a date, time, place as well as instructions to bring a recording device of some sort.

Although she did not like following the orders of others, her curiosity was piqued with interest. That and she knew that the tension between the gangs that were controlled by The Face and the few that were still loyal to her was about to reach a breaking point. She just hoped that her allies, specifically Katherine Brooks was about to make a move.

The double doors of the morgue flew open as two men in scrubs pulled a stretcher covered with a bloody sheet into the room.

"I just can't believe it." The one said with a shake of his sandy hair.

"The police are going to want to take the body downtown to their fancy crime lab to do the autopsy, so don't touch anything." The other warned.

"Do you even know who this is?" The sandy haired one questioned.

"Some rich white chick." The other darker man said with an unconcerned shrug.

"She wasn't just _some_ rich chick; she was like _thee_ rich chick. I mean, this chick was worth billions. Can you even imagine having that kind of scratch to play with?" The one with the sandy hair looked at his co-worker with a mixture of disbelief and awe.

"And yet here she is, dead in the morgue, just like everyone else." The darker skinned one said with a shrug.

"Dude, you really need to get out more." The sandy haired one said with a hint of disgust in his voice.

"Money isn't everything; we all end up in exactly the same place. A cold steel slab with someone cutting and pulling out your insides and then stitching you back up to be burned or thrown in the ground."

"You are one morbid, depressed guy Jerry." The sandy haired one said with a shake of his head.

Jerry shrugged. "Let's put her on ice. This place is going to get a whole lot busier." He observed.

"Busier, man this city has gone insane. There are guys roaming the streets with these high powered electric pulse beam guns. I mean can you believe that shit?" He asked as he pulled out an empty drawer. They placed the body inside, closed the drawer with a click and left the room.

Karai slowly stood and walked over to the closed drawer. She grasped hold of the handle and pulled the flat bed of steel from the refrigeration unit. She took hold of the bloodied sheet and pulled it back, revealing a very familiar face.

Karai was momentarily stunned, her jaw dropping open slightly in shock. She had suspected who the morgue attendants had been talking about but somehow she had not expected to see Katherine lying under the sheet.

Karai frowned in confusion. She did not understand how Katherine had come to be dead in the hospital morgue, or why Karai had been told to be here in the first place. _Did Katherine still live? Is that why she was here?_ Karai wondered as she tentatively reached out and touched the woman's throat searching for a pulse in the cold flesh, but found nothing.

Karai heard muted voices coming from the hallway. She quickly replaced the sheet, but left the drawer open as she quickly slid back into her hiding spot just in the nick of time.

A petite blonde woman slipped into the room followed by a tall man with a wide brimmed hat pulled down over his face, the collar of his dark wool coat pulled up obscuring his face.

The woman looked around the silent room, her eyes briefly sliding past Karai's hiding spot. The woman then focused on the slab of metal holding Katherine's corpse.

Karai's eyes widened in recognition of the woman's face. She recognized her from the Museum fundraiser. She didn't remember her name, but she recognized her because she had been sitting beside Katherine at the same table.

The man's face tipped up and Karai felt her heart begin to beat faster as her blood ran cold. The man was wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. An inkling of understanding bloomed in her brain. _But was this the real Face, or was it someone pretending to be him? _She wondered.

Karai pulled the recording device from a small pocket in her outfit and began to record.

The woman walked over to the slab and pulled back the bloody sheet revealing Katherine's pale blue features, a stain of crimson that had trickled from between her lips marred the perfection of her blue hued, alabaster face.

"The bitch is finally dead." The blonde woman crowed with a sneer. "A shot to the heart was too good for you." The woman growled.

"Artemis." The man in the mask snapped.

"She was supposed to suffer. Just like Hunter suffered." The woman retorted angrily.

"She's dead, that's all that matters." The man replied calmly.

"No it isn't. Hunter was supposed to take over father's role, but he decided to leave Chicago and 'make it on his own.' And then what happened to him?" She asked rhetorically. "He gets himself involved with nut case Oroku Saki and his so called empire. Hunter became nothing but that bastard's lackey. Then Saki died or whatever happened to him, and his daughter Karai Saki took over and she treated him no better than her father."

"Karai's empire has almost fallen, it won't be long now before she is nothing more than a bad memory." The man who had to be The Face replied. "Then we can go back to Chicago where we belong. The woman who killed our brother is finally dead. After our little visit, there are only a few more loose ends need to be tied up and it will all be over."

"How can you be satisfied with this?" Artemis gestured to Katherine's body. "I wanted her to suffer! I wanted her to feel the way I do. I wanted her to hurt like I hurt! I will not stop until I kill everyone that she has ever loved or cared about starting with those pet freaks of hers, and then what remains of her family..."

"Artemis!" The Face barked as he lifted off his mask revealing the fair countenance of the man who had been sitting beside Artemis at the table at the fundraiser. It was then that Karai's inkling to the identity of The Face was confirmed. The man who was now The Face strongly resembled the late Hun. He was not nearly as large as Hun, but his figure was still quite impressive none the less.

"If we go after the Wraiths the cops will not stop until they have tracked us down. As it stands Katherine Wraith's death is untraceable back to us. She is dead and we get to walk away, crush Karai and go home. She is dead and now I will call this sniper who managed to do what Mr. White was unable to do. It is my belief that this assassin will make a much better addition to our little family then that loose screw Mr. White was. He failed in a most important task, and for that I believe we shall have to make him a very special place in our room of masks."

Karai's face broke into a grin as she slowly eased her katana and wakizashi from their sheathes. She slipped silently from her hiding spot and advanced upon the oblivious pair.

The Face pulled a phone and a white business card from his pocket. He dialed the number on the card. "Mr. Green. We have confirmed your work. I believe you will make an excellent addition to our team. I will be in touch." The Face said as he cut off the call.

Karai smiled as she shut off the recording device, and observed quietly. "My father always believed it was prudent to lop off the head of the snake rather than waste time trying to attack his body." Karai said as the pair turned quickly. The Face reached into his jacket pocket to pull out a gun, but Karai was faster. She swung her katana with lightning fast reflexes severing his carotid artery before he had a chance to take aim. His eyes widened in surprise as he clutched at his neck attempting to stem the river of blood, but it was too late. The Face dropped to the ground as he quickly bled out.

Karai dodged to the left avoiding a bullet from the small gun Artemis had pulled from her purse. Artemis glared at Karai as tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. "Richard!" Artemis called hoarsely as she looked at her beloved brother lying on the cold floor in a pool of his own crimson blood.

"You should not have tried to take my city." Karai snarled as she lunged at Artemis who managed to stumble out of the way, putting a metal table between them, but not before Karai's wakizashi cut a shallow slice across Artemis' shoulder.

"You will pay for this!" Artemis cried out. "You won't live long enough to see your city burn!" Artemis threatened, hatred burning in her eyes, as she took careful aim at Karai again. Karai ducked and slid under the table slicing deep across Artemis' thigh. Artemis screamed in pain as blood ran heavily down her leg as her jeans became soaked with blood.

"You die this night." Karai promised as Artemis took a shaky step back. She tumbled to the ground and tried to rise again while aiming her gun unsteadily, but she was not able to get off another shot before the gun fell from her useless fingers. Artemis collapsed as she slowly bled to death from the wound in her thigh.

Karai wiped her sword and wakizashi on The Face's shoulder and sheathed both weapons.

She looked at Katherine's body and studied the woman who had caused Karai a moment's fear for her life when she had captured Leonardo and Raphael. "You knew you were going to die. I suppose death is always inevitable, but you used your death to your advantage. I was just another pawn to be manipulated and controlled like those two." She motioned to Artemis and Richard. "Did you truly know that they would wish confirmation of your death? Or were there other forces at work?" Karai wondered out loud to herself as she thought of the mysterious man and wondered at his role in Katherine's death. She reached out a black gloved hand and pulled Katherine's dress down slightly exposing the bullet wound that had ripped through her chest. "Did you say goodbye to them before you left?" Karai mused. "I would bet not. Men so hate being protected. They see women as weak, chattel, to be protected and controlled. But you cannot control what is uncontrollable, and you cannot predict what is unpredictable. You were dangerous because you were both." Karai and bowed low over the woman. "You were a worthy ally. You died to protect those you loved. It is an honourable death, though I do not know whether to be envious that you found something so remarkable to sacrifice your life for, or to pity you for it." Karai told the dead woman.

Karai straightened, pulling the recording device from her pocket. "Did you wish for me to leave this, I wonder? Your murderers brought to justice perhaps?" Karai put the recording device in Richard's gloved hand. As she did so she looked at the white business card that had fluttered to the ground beside him. She picked it up and studied it. On the other end of this number was Katherine's murderer. She pocketed the card, because she knew it would be worth something. She took one last look at the woman on the metal slab. "I think you were more dangerous than I gave you credit for Miss Brooks or should I say Miss Wraith." She said softly as she pulled the sheet back over the woman's body and rolled her back into the wall.

Karai now had a traitor to deal with.

* * *

><p><strong>Barry<strong> hung up his phone and tapped it against his lips, deep in thought. He pushed himself off of the hood of his car and walked around to the driver's side door. He opened it and slid into the bright orange leather seat.

He knew the city was fast falling into chaos, but he had other, more pressing concerns to attend too. He knew that he would be followed by The Face's henchman, -Mr. White-, and he was going to lead him on a merry chase around the city before he finally confronted the killer, face to face as it were.

* * *

><p><strong>Mr. White<strong> grinned. He had put Mr. Green's phone number into his phone, and smart phones were quite smart, allowing him to be able to track Mr. Green's phone easily. Mr. White had of course allowed Mr. Green to kill Katherine Wraith, and had observed The Face leaving the hotel in his car to confirm her death in person as per the agreement with Mr. Green. Mr. White knew that he had to wait until The Face made his phone call, and so Mr. White followed The Face to Mt. Sinai hospital. As soon as The Face exited the building through the back door he would pursue Mr. Green.

Mr. White tapped his fingers impatiently on his steering wheel. The Face was taking far too long to confirm Katherine Wraith's death.

He decided to slip in through the back door to see what was taking so long. It was then that he encountered a strong police presence. Crime scene tape blocked off the entire morgue. He slipped into the shadows of a nearby alcove and listened intently to the conversations of the working CSI's. From what he heard as officers came and went was that Richard Mason and a woman by the name of Artemis Mason had been found murdered in the morgue. They had been killed with a bladed weapon possibly a type of sword. Mr. White felt himself pale at this revelation that the fatal injuries had been sustained to their neck and leg.

Mr. White shook his head. _Someone was toying with him._ He snagged a passing CSI pulling him into the alcove and twisting his neck until he heard a satisfying crack. He dragged the body into a supply closet and quickly divested him of his clothing. Pulling the cap down low over his eyes he slipped under the crime scene tape.

Two stretchers were being set up, but the two bodies were still on the floor under white sheets. Mr. White approached the two bodies with a confidence that proclaimed that he knew what he was doing and that he was supposed to be there. He knelt down and picked up a piece of the white sheet nearest him. No one protested as he looked over the body of a woman he had seen enter and leave the hotel many times, but one who he had not thought anything of other than that she may be The Face's woman of some sort. He lowered the sheet and then moved to the bigger one. He lifted the sheet and took at the face of a man who he had to assume was The Face, if the Guy Fawkes mask was any indication to go by. He observed the brutal wounds and frowned as a shiver of trepidation danced along his spine. He gave himself a mental shake.

Katherine Wraith was dead.

She couldn't have killed The Face or Artemis. And yet he couldn't get the small seed of doubt from sprouting in his mind.

She had supposedly died twice now. There was a possibility that she was still alive. He needed to see the body himself. He just wasn't sure how to accomplish it, especially with the cops around.

Mr. White contemplated the Guy Fawkes mask for a moment before quickly slipping it inside his jacket.

"Richard and Artemis Mason." He heard a detective say.

"You really think this is The Face?" A second detective questioned.

The first detective shrugged. "If it is, then we should thank someone."

"You two get back to work." A feminine voice ordered.

"Come on Sykes, this guy is a mass murderer. We'll do our job, but if I ever find out who killed him, I'll give 'em a high five."

"You think there's anything on that recording?"The first detective asked.

"Maybe." The woman named Sykes answered as the voices on the recording began to play. Mr. White heard The Face and Artemis talking and the phone call to Mr. Green. Mr. White scanned the room looking for the cell phone. If he could trace Mr. Green so could they. He needed that phone. He spotted the phone partially hidden beneath a low table close to The Face's body. He reached out and pocketed the phone carefully as he stood.

"So...these two hired an assassin and had Katherine Wraith killed?" The second detective whistled lowly.

"Seems like." Sykes said as she put the recording in an evidence bag. "But we need that phone; the number this guy dialled will still be on it. Though if this Mr. Green is a professional it is probably a burner phone, but we may be able to set up the meeting The Face promised. We will try to keep Richard Mason's murder under wraps for now, and hopefully we can catch the one who actually pulled the trigger."

"But that doesn't explain who killed these two and left the recording." The first detective observed.

"Excuse me. I'm here to pick up Katherine Wraith's body for transfer." A deep voice said politely.

Mr. white turned and looked at the new intruder. He was a tall black man who wore a blue jacket with the word CORONER written in white on the back, and a blue baseball cap covering his head. He had a serious face but somehow managed to convey an easiness about him when he smiled.

The detective was of course extremely reluctant to let the coroner removed the body from her crime scene.

Mr. White watched the interplay between the Detective and the Coroner with impatience. If the coroner was able to leave with the body then Mr. White would be able to take a peek and see if Katherine Wraith was really dead.

Mr. White expected the coroner, who was a good looking man, to try to flirt with the detective to get his way, instead he turned down his 1000 watt smile and played the 'I'm just doing my job and if I had it my way I would listen to you, but my hands are tied' card, and produced an official looking document.

Detective Sykes looked over the document , she frowned in annoyance and gave a swift nod of approval.

The coroner gave a tip of his hat and walked over to the bank of square metal doors that covered the right hand wall. He opened the designated drawer, rolling the refrigerated body out.

The coroner quickly unfolded a black body bag and placed it on the stretcher. He then peeled back the white sheet revealing Katherine Wraith's body. She was still in the white dress she had been shot in, and he could see the bullet wound on her blood soaked chest.

Mr. White smiled to himself. She was dead, and so was The Face. He could feel the weight of the mask under his stolen CSI coat. He was originally going to kill Mr. Green, but now Mr. White was having a change of heart. The role of the Face needed to be filled, and as no one actually knew who The Face was -and the police were going to keep his death a secret for now- Mr. White didn't see any reason why he couldn't become the new 'Face'. And he had an offer for Mr. Green. Hired assassins were always welcome into the 'family'.

Mr. White watched as the coroner placed Katherine Wraith's body into the body bag, zipped it up and walked from the crime scene pushing the stretcher in front of him.

Mr. White followed a few minutes later and escaped during the panic that ensued when the body of the CSI he had killed was found.

Mr. White walked calmly to his car and took off his stolen clothing, as he slowly drove away to hunt for his assassin.

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><p><strong>And the plot thickens! thoughts and opinions are always welcome!<strong>


	28. Chapter 28

**Hello all! New chapter is finally up and I wanted to thank Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter and for the amazing ideas you add which are always appreciated!**

**Also a big thank you to all of my readers who have stuck with the story so far and to my reviewers Cibiwolf33, Hellgirl-fan1, Diana Fay and Margui, thank you for the support!**

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><p><span>Chapter 28<span>

**Deon** looked at his watch in agitation. Things were taking too damn long. The phone in his pocket began to vibrate and he reluctantly answered it.

"Well?" Barry's voice asked with an unidentifiable note of strong emotion in his voice.

"I'm just at the morgue now." He responded.

"We ran out of time 10 minutes ago." Barry growled in frustration.

"I know!" Deon said as he tried to hush his voice. "What if..." He began but Barry cut him off.

"Worse case scenario, we stick to the contingency plan. I will switch to radio silence in half an hour." The line went dead as Deon put the phone back in his pocket and wheeled the stretcher into the Mt. Sinai morgue, which was now a double murder crime scene. He silently swore to himself, because this was going to delay him even more. He was glad Karai had stepped up to the plate and killed her 'prey' as it were, but he had hoped she would at least clean up her mess afterwards.

Deon plastered a charming smile on his face. It was going to be hard to get Katherine's body out of the morgue, but he was determined not to leave the crime scene without it.

"I'm detective Sykes and this is my crime scene. You can't just walk in here demanding evidence." She said in frustration.

Deon looked down at the pretty blonde with flashing blue eyes. Deon had hoped that there would be a man in charge of the scene. Women law enforcement always had so much more to prove. Deon turned down his smile so she wouldn't think he was trying to flirt with her or undermine her in any way.

"I know Ma'am, but I have my orders and I need to get this body to the crime lab downtown." He said seriously, resisting the urge to look at his watch.

"No." She said obstinately.

"I'm sorry detective, but the row of bodies in the fridge behind you aren't part of your crime scene. That body is part of an active and I might add, very important murder investigation." Deon said softly.

"Listen. We have evidence that the vics in here were responsible for her death. They are all connected..." Sykes began.

Deon gave a negligent shrug as he interrupted her. "I'm just following orders Ma'am." He said as he handed her the papers signed by the District Attorney himself. The Milton's had very high connections and probably could have aimed even higher, but hadn't wanted to push too hard.

Detective Sykes looked at the paper and frowned, finally giving her nod of approval.

"I won't touch anything and be out of your way in a moment." Deon promised.

Deon put Katherine's body into a black body bag and wheeled her from the morgue and out into the coroners van parked out back.

He loaded her up, closed the back doors and hopped into the driver's seat. He slowly drove away from the hospital. He kept glancing back at the body in the back and began to rub his stiff shoulders. He had enough stress in them at the moment to last a lifetime. He grabbed his phone and pulled it out of his pocket. He looked at the time and swore. Barry would be maintaining radio silence right now.

Deon looked over his shoulder at Katherine's body in grim apprehension.

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> drove as if all of the hounds of Hell were on his tail. Anger coursed through his veins, hot and virulent. He had one goal that burned through his mind and one goal only this dark night; to find whoever had shot Katherine and kill them as brutally as possible. He clung to this thought like a lifeline, because it was the only reason he wasn't a sobbing, broken mess at the moment. He had an objective, an aim, a goal. And he would fulfill that goal at any cost, because he had a son, who now had no mother. Hot tears filled his eyes and he blinked them back quickly. He tried to choke back the sob that was crawling up his throat, because if he let the sob out he would never be able to do what needed to be done tonight; because the love of his life was dead, for no other reason than she had dared to love him.

He bit the inside of his cheek hard, the sharp pain cutting through the agony that had curled up like a snake in his heart. He revelled in the coppery taste of his own blood in his mouth; because it meant that he was alive and able to exact his murderous revenge against any and all who had any, even the tiniest role, in Katherine's murder.

He drove through the chaos of the streets and finally pulled up to the ruined doors of Karai's tower.

Raphael forcefully pulled himself together and glanced over at Leonardo who sat in the passenger seat next to him. Leonardo looked pale, grim and extremely focused on the task ahead. But Raphael could detect the overwhelming grief that had settled around his brother's shoulders like a heavy black cloak that was too much of a burden to bear.

"Let's find Karai." Raphael managed to growl lowly out as he opened the truck door, sais already pulled and screaming for blood.

His brothers slowly exited the truck and slowly advanced towards the doors that looked as if they had been blown out from the inside.

Raphael caught Donatello's eye and Donatello gave an imperceptible nod. Donatello would look after and watch out for Leonardo. He was not at his fighting best at the moment, and Raphael was determined that he and all of his brothers were going to go home after this night alive.

They quietly entered the building. Raphael could hear fighting coming from somewhere deep within the building. Raphael took a few more steps into the building and looked down. There was a large circular hole that had been punched through the floor and continued a route into the ceiling several stories above him.

Raphael shared a look with Leonardo who nodded sharply. "Down it is." He mumbled under his breath as Donatello opened his duffel bag and threw him a thick rope. Raphael quickly tied it off and they made their way several stories below them, towards the sound of battle.

Raphael's feet hit metal as he jumped the last few feet and landing on a suspended catwalk 15 feet from the floor below.

Beneath him was utter and total chaotic carnage. Foot ninjas were battling with opponents who were using high powered rifles of some sort, to devastating effect.

Raphael's eyes sought out the only person he cared about.

"Oh look who's come to play." A familiar voice oozed malicious intent as Raphael and his brothers leapt from the catwalk as it collapsed from underneath them.

Raphael managed to hit the ground and rolled taking much of the impact. As he rolled to his feet he searched in vain for Leonardo, not knowing how his brother's leg had endured the sudden drop and the hard fall. But Leonardo was gone, and so were his other brothers.

"Stockman." Raphael snarled under his breath. Stockman was the traitor. It was Stockman who was responsible for Katherine being kidnapped, forced to shoot Leonardo, nearly blown up and ending up in a coma.

"In the flesh, so to speak." Stockman replied as Raphael took in the robot standing in front of him. The robot wasn't overly large, being about 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It looked more like an exoskeleton with two arms and two legs, and enough weapons to arm the US army.

"You are dead." Raphael vowed darkly as he launched himself at the robot.

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><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> groaned as he massaged his throbbing leg. He had hit the ground fairly hard, jarring his already sore leg futher.

He glanced out from around a pile of debris as his eyes sought out his quarry. He was finally able to spot Karai, who was caught up in the middle of an intense battle with a gang of men using the high powered rifles that he had seen before. He slowly and carefully stood. He needed Karai alive. He pulled his Katanas from their sheaths with a cool whispering of metal upon metal.

He ran towards Karai as he cut down thug after thug, destroying the strange guns that seemed to be ineffective in aiming and firing at him.

Karai turned quickly her sword raised to dispatch him. He blocked her sword with his own. His eyes narrowed at her as she looked over his right shoulder. A robot lifted up an arm that held the pale, limp form of Raphael in its deadly grasp. Leonardo felt his breath catch in his throat at the motionless form of his brother who hung as still as death within the robot's grasp.

The robot raised its left arm and fired. Leonardo grabbed Karai and dove behind a piece of the shattered catwalk.

"I do not need your help Leonardo." Karai hissed angrily.

"No, but my brother does, so don't get yourself killed before I have a chance to talk to you Karai." Leonardo ground out between clenched teeth as he stood and darted towards Raphael, who had regained consciousness and who had began to struggle in Stockman's grip. Leo breathed a sigh of relief that his brother was okay, as he quickly joined the fight.

Leonardo leapt, ignoring the pain that ripped through his thigh as he severed the robotic arm that still held Raphael tightly.

The arm fell to the ground with the clank of heavy steel against concrete. Leonardo helped Raphael get to his feet as he searched the carnage desperately for Michelangelo and Donatello.

"I've got this Leo," Raphael growled as he shook off Leonardo's helping hands. "Find Mikey and Donny and make sure Karai doesn't kick the bucket." Raphael ordered as he leapt back into the fray with Dr. Stockman. Leonardo felt torn, not wanting to leave Raphael, but he hadn't seen Michelangelo or Donatello yet.

Leonardo scanned the chaos and managed to spot Donatello 20 feet away. Donatello raised his bo as he faced off against a gang member. At the same moment another gang member raised his gun, and aimed directly at Donatello's exposed back.

Leonardo screamed his brother's name, but it was lost in the noise and chaos of the fierce fighting around them.

The gun fired.

Leo watched in stunned horror; helpless to do anything but watch as his brother was killed in cold blood right in front of his eyes. Amazingly the bullet struck the man directly to Donatello's right, somehow completely missing his brother. The thug looked at his gun in stunned confusion and aimed for his brother's back again, but it was too late, Donatello had already spotted the movement behind him. He spun quickly around and managed to disarm the gang member, knocking him unconscious before he could pull the trigger.

Karai leapt upon what remained of the catwalk. "Tech ninja's attack!" She barked as twenty navy blue clad ninjas appeared and entered into the fray.

"Kill them all!" Dr. Stockman roared, laughing maniacally until Raphael managed to run his sai through a cable that ran the length of Stockman's mechanical body. The leg collapsed and Stockman fell to one knee. Stockman's arm shot out grabbing Raphael's arm and throwing him against a wall. Raphael struck the back of his head with a loud crack and slid down the wall to land in a boneless heap.

"Raph!" Leonardo cried out in worry, but his brother let out a soft moan and twitched slightly in response.

Stockman turned his attention to Karai as she began to speak to him."Your men will have trouble killing what they cannot aim for Dr. Stockman." Karai spoke loudly to make herself heard over the din. "I began to suspect you to be my traitor, and as I knew exactly what type of weapon I had asked you to design, I was able to plan for such a deceitful attack. Heat seeking technology will seek out the nearest source of heat. Effective, unless you are dealing with opponents who are cold blooded, or are encased within a heat suppression bio-suit." She finished with a sly smile.

"That is okay Karai," Dr Stockman began, "All I care about is ridding this world of your existence and killing the turtles. And don't forget, I'm a genius, my intellect is far superior to yours and so I equipped this body with weapons that are of the more mundane variety."

Before Leonardo could even react Stockman's mechanical body turned 180 degrees at the waist, aiming for a surprised Raphael who had yet to fully recover from Stockman's previous attack. The loud crack of a gunshot reverberated through the air as Leonardo caught a flash of orange that dove in front of his dazed, hot-headed brother.

Michelangelo and Raphael fell together in a tangled heap, and both remained unnervingly still. Leonardo could not even detect the faint rise and fall of their shells to reassure him that they were at least still breathing.

Leonardo felt his throat close up and tears prick his eyes. A guttural roar of anger and anguish laced with cold fear was ripped from his throat. The animalistic roar stilled the battle with its anguished fury.

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><p><strong>Raphael<strong> hadn't even seen the gun being released from within the hidden confines of Stockman's mechanized arm until it was too late. He had stared down the barrel of the gun and known that he was about to die and out of pure instinct he had closed his eyes, waiting for his death.

He flinched as the crack of the gun had torn through his mind as he was hit hard in the chest knocking him back, darkness momentarily pulling him into unconsciousness.

Raphael opened his eyes and groaned. He felt as if he had been hit by a ton of bricks and he couldn't seem to take a breath of air. He was surprised that he was still alive. He tried to get up but wasn't able to. He realized then that something or someone was lying on him. His vision cleared and he gazed down his plastron in shock at Michelangelo's pale, still form stretched over him like a living shield.

"Mikey?" He whispered hoarsely, trying to move to check to see if his baby brother was still alive. When Michelangelo didn't respond Raphael felt his world blacken. "No." He croaked with denial. "Mikey!" He hissed loudly refusing to believe that his brother had just taken the bullet meant for him. Raphael gently placed his finger tips under his brother's jaw searching for a pulse. His seeking finger tips could not find a gentle thud beneath them. "NO! Mikey…" he moaned in anguish before Michelangelo's neck twitched underneath his hand.

"Ouch." Michelangelo grimaced as his brother's light brown eyes opened and looked at him. "You okay Raph?" He asked with worry thick in his voice.

"Yeah, you?" Raphael asked with concern, his heart still in his throat as he watched as Michelangelo slowly and carefully moved himself off him.

"Ow! I think I pulled something." Michelangelo grumbled as he gently rubbed his right side.

Raphael turned his attention back to Dr. Stockman who was being attacked by Donatello who had managed to leap onto Dr. Stockman's robotic shoulders. Dr. Stockman tried in vain to clutch at Donatello who ripped off a metal plate cover, ripping out the wires inside the housing, sending Stockman's robotic body twitching uncontrollably in a different direction.

Raphael pulled back his arm, a sai held in his hand. "Let's see how good you fight if you can't see." He snarled as he threw his sai. It flew through the air hitting the robot right in its robotic eye. Stockman screamed in rage as Leonardo leapt up, skewering the robot's midsection. Sparks began to emanate from the malfunctioning mechanical body.

"Everybody get down!" Donatello said as he leapt off Stockman's back. Leonardo ripped his swords free. Donatello quickly threw one of Leonardo's arms across his shoulders as he helped his brother run for cover. As soon as they reached their other brothers Raphael and Donatello used their bodies to shield Michelangelo and Leonardo from the massive explosion of Dr. Stockman's mechanical body.

Raphael growled angrily in his throat. He had wanted to kill Stockman for his role in Katherine's death. He got to his feet, pulling Michelangelo up with him.

Raphael looked over at Karai as she cut down the final thug; the rest of the gang were unconscious, surrendering, or fleeing the building. Karai nodded to herself as she sheathed her weapon.

"Thank you for coming to my aid Leonardo." She said formally as she bowed to Leonardo who had stood with Donatello's help.

"We didn't come here for you Karai." Leonardo said sharply, a hitch of grief entering his voice.

"Ah yes, Miss Brooks, or I suppose Miss Wraith." Karai said solemnly. "Her death was not in vain. The Face is dead, and you and your family are now safe."

Raphael felt stunned at Karai's words. "Whadya mean The Face is **DEAD**?" Raphael roared out incredulously.

"Richard Mason was The Face and I suspect it was his sister Artemis who had a large part to do with Miss Wraith's murder." Karai replied.

"Who?" Raphael asked in confusion.

"Hun's brother and sister." Karai answered.

Raphael closed his eyes. It all made sense now. The personal feeling that Katherine had always said was attached to the attempts on her life.

"How?" Leonardo asked softly.

"I received and anonymous tip as to where The Face was to be found. I suspect the shooter or an associate of the shooter had intimate details of The Face's movements." Karai informed them.

"Can you tell us what the shooter looked like?" Leonardo asked, his voice shaking with controlled emotion.

"I can do you one better." Karai said as she produced a white card. "But you must remember how I aided you in this, and so perhaps I can be forgiven for the incident over half a year ago."

"What is it?" Raphael asked suspiciously, ignoring Karai's request.

"The assassin's phone number. I do not know if the assassin will have gotten rid of the phone, I suspect not since The Face was supposed to use this number to contact the sniper, but it is a place to start." Karai explained.

Donatello took the card from Karai's hand and looked at it.

"Can you trace it Donny?" Leonardo asked hopefully.

"I hope so Leo." Donatello said with an edge of cold hard determination in his voice.

Leonardo gave a curt nod, turning away from Karai. "You loved her, did you not Leonardo?" Karai asked as they began heading in the direction of an elevator that some of the escaping thugs had used.

Leonardo halted his progress mid step and looked at Karai over his shoulder. "More than anything." He replied softly as he limped towards the elevator doors.

"I get to kill him Leo." Raphael said softly as soon as Leonardo entered the elevator. "When we find the bastard who killed Katherine, I am going to make him suffer, and then maybe, I'll let him die."

"Raph..." Leonardo began.

"Karai killed the ones responsible for orchestrating her death, and I am **not** going to let the bastard who pulled the trigger get away. I need my revenge Leo. I need to avenge her death or else I will never be able to grieve for her." He stated to his brother.

"I know." Leonardo agreed as the elevator doors slid shut.

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><p><strong>Raphael<strong> leapt out of the truck, his sais clutched in each hand as he surveyed the darkened side street. Donatello was able to use the number to get the exact location of Katherine's assassin. They stealthily made their way down the alley.

Headlights flashed on, momentarily blinding him, as a dark figure stepped in front of the lights.

Raphael stared at the man's face as his mind was unable to process what he was seeing before him. Blind rage and betrayal coursed through him as he leapt at Barry Milton's shadowed form.

"Let me go!" Raphael screamed as Leonardo, tried his best to hold him back.

Barry pulled out a gun and calmly leveled it at Raphael's chest, his face impassive.

"**YOU BASTARD!"** Raphael roared as he railed against Leonardo's failing grip. Donatello and Michelangelo grabbed him as well, but still he moved forward, his mind intent on one goal; the death of the man who had pretended to be Katherine's friend and then betrayed and killed her. "She trusted you!" He yelled in anguish as hot tears streamed down his face.

"Raph, enough!" Leonardo yelled as Raphael fell to his knees under the weight of his three brothers who were trying desperately to stop him.

"You killed her because you couldn't have her. She said '**NO**' to you and you couldn't take it!" Raphael accused as he strained against his brother's tight hold on his body as he continued to fight their grip.

"Barry!" Leonardo gasped out. "Why?" Leonardo asked his voice shaking in shock and disbelief.

"If I told you she told me to shoot her; something tells me, you wouldn't believe me." Barry said his voice cracking slightly with emotion.

"You lie!" Raphael roared "She would never…"

"Try to protect you!" Barry finished angrily his eyes flashing dangerously.

Raphael felt himself grow cold as he stopped struggling against his brothers too stunned to continue fighting. "No." Raphael protested softly as cold realization gripped his heart as his brothers pulled him unsteadily to his feet.

"All she wanted was to protect you, but... She wasn't supposed to die." Barry croaked with a miserable shake of his head. "That wasn't part of the plan, but she knew that she needed to lure the Face out, and she knew there was a chance that she might be killed in the process. She was willing to take that risk if it meant that in the end you were all safe!" Barry said his voice shaking with anger and misery. "So her death is **your fault not mine**!" Barry yelled at him, tears filling his eyes, the gun in his hand still aimed at Raphael's heart. "Because of you she is dead and I am _never_ going to forgive you for that." Barry promised.

"So now what? You gonna kill us?" Raphael asked with a sneer.

Barry put up his gun, the barrel pointing towards the sky. "No." He said shaking his head. "She died to protect you. I wouldn't disrespect her memory in that manner."

"Well ain't that sweet, just try to put up a fight before I kill you. I wouldn't want to kill an unarmed opponent." Raphael growled as he took a menacing step towards Barry.

Barry lowered his gun, aiming it at Raphael's chest again. Raphael ignored the gun and launched himself at Barry, letting out a guttural roar of anger as his body hit Barry's, knocking them both to the ground in a tangle of fighting limbs as the crack of a gun shattered the silence of the night.

Raphael hauled Barry to his feet the gun clattering to the ground as Raphael hauled his fist back and punched Barry across the face. Barry stumbled back, running a hand across his bleeding lip.

"Raph, you're injured." Donatello suddenly said with concern.

Raphael looked down at his blood covered hoodie. "It ain't mine." He said simply as he turned his attention back to Barry. "You're the one who..."Raphael began in a shaky voice as Michelangelo suddenly dropped like a stone to the ground right beside him.

Raphael looked down at his baby brother in shock. "Mikey?" He questioned, his voice heavy with concern as he noticed the slow stain of blood seeping across his brother's side.

"Mikey!" Raphael shouted in fear as his brother's eyes slid closed and his breathing slowed.

"Raph, stand back!" Donatello ordered as he knelt down beside Michelangelo's prone form.  
>Raphael turned fury filled eyes towards Barry. "You shot him!" Raphael roared in accusation.<p>

Barry paled slightly, his eyes narrowing in anger. "You are the idiot who attacked _me _while I was holding a coked and loaded gun!" Barry shot back as Donatello lifted up Michelangelo's shirt revealing the bloody wound that had torn open his brother's right side. "He's been shot, but Barry didn't shoot him." Donatello pronounced grimly.

"Come again?" Raphael growled in confusion.

"Some of the blood has already begun to dry and his shirt was sticking to the wound, that's probably why he didn't bleed out. He was shot probably around 10 minutes ago."

Raphael's mind thought furiously and then he felt the blood drain from his face in horrified realization. His brother had taken the bullet that Dr. Stockman had shot at him. "Mikey you idiot!" Raphael shouted in panic. "That bullet was meant for me!" Raphael choked out as he fell to his knees beside his fatally wounded brother and picked up Michelangelo's cold, limp hand.

Michelangelo opened his eyes slightly, his eyes glazed with pain as he looked at Raphael so seriously, he clutched Raphael's hand tighter. "Toshiro already lost his mother." Michelangelo whispered weakly, blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth. "Can't have him lose his father too."

"Mikey why didn't you say something?" Donatello asked him, panic beginning to fill his own voice.

Michelangelo stared at something that was behind them, a look of confusion on his face. "It…I didn't think it was that bad." He answered softly.

"Not that bad! Mikey you were shot!" Raphael roared. "How could you…"

"S'okay Raphie." Michelangelo whispered softly, his voice fading fast. "I'm not scared...Kitten's here." Michelangelo reached out his free hand towards someone who was standing behind Raphael.

Goosebumps spread across Raphael's arms as he resisted the urge to look around, because he was afraid of seeing her, and yet somehow even more afraid of _not_ seeing her.

"Don't you dare die on me Michelangelo." Katherine's voice whispered firmly as a single pale alabaster hand reached out and firmly grasped Michelangelo's outstretched hand.

Icy fear rolled across Raphael's skin at the haunting sound of his dead lover's voice. But he couldn't turn around, instead his eyes remained fixed on Michelangelo who breathed out a tired sigh, as if holding on to life for the last 10 minutes had taken all of the strength and willpower he had left.

"No, no, no." Raphael said desperately as Michelangelo's eyes peacefully slid closed and his body went limp.

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><p><strong>And yes I am ending the chapter there, because I am evil;)<strong>

**thoughts and opinions are always welcome and encouraged!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Greetings all! next chapter is here!:) Thanks as always to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter for me:D You are Awesome!**

**Also thank you to my reviewers Chibiwolf33, dondena, Pludoh, Diana Fay, forgottenforever and mela989898! **

**Please enjoy:)**

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><p><span>Chapter 29<span>

**45 minutes earlier...**

**Deon** reached out a trembling hand and unzipped the body bag revealing Katherine's chilling blue features.

Deon took a deep breath as he knelt down and rummaged around in a duffle bag at his feet. The limited 4 hour window for revival time had long since passed and he was over by 45 minutes.

"I hope this works." He muttered under his breath as he pulled out a huge steel gauge needle filled with pure adrenalin.

He leaned over Katherine's body and slammed the needle straight into her heart, injecting the needle's contents in one swift motion.

Deon pulled the needle out and sat back on his heels waiting to see if it would work; or if he was too late.

The minutes ticked by and Deon felt himself lose hope. He closed his eyes in remorse until he heard a gasp.

Deon's eyes flew open as Katherine arched her back and took another gasp of air. She slowly opened her eyes.

Deon felt himself sag with relief. "Welcome back to the land of the living, how do you feel?" He asked as Katherine turned luminous green eyes towards him.

"Like someone shot me and I died." She replied in a hoarse voice. "But I suspect I will get over it." She said with a smile as he helped her from the metal stretcher.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> tried to get her mind and limbs working. She felt as if she had been heavily drugged and that it would be much too easy to slip back into being unconscious, or whatever she had been before.

"The Face is dead, so is Artemis Mason." Deon told her as he helped her to carefully sit up.

"I overheard the recording you got Karai Saki to take. She left it at the crime scene. It sounded like The Face, whose name is Richard Mason, and Artemis Mason were Hunter Mason's brother and sister."

Katherine frowned. "Hunter Mason?" She asked in confusion and then nodded. "Hun." She said as she felt a pang of remorse for her responsibility in the death of three siblings. "What else?" She asked as she stood in the cramped confines of the van.

"Well, either Karai Saki's traitor has made their move, or somehow word has leaked out that The Face's is dead. The cops want to keep that information secret, but the whole city is going insane right now."

Katherine frowned, but nodded. As far as she was concerned, Karai was on her own. Katherine had helped bring down The Face, so she had kept her side of the bargain. "Barry?" She asked in concern.

"He's going to think you are dead because I woke you up way past when I was supposed to. So he is working on the contingency plan." Katherine nodded as she thought about the events 6 months earlier that had led her to this moment.

_Katherine looked at Barry who was looking back at her in horror._

_ "You want me to do what?" He asked in shock._

_ "Shoot me. Straight through the heart with one of those bullets that fragments." She said to him reasonably._

_ Barry shook his head. "I'm not going to kill you." He said as he looked towards Deon as if his friend would be any help in determining the cause of the sudden deterioration of her mental state._

_ "But I need to die. It is the only way we can lure The Face out of hiding." She countered logically._

_ "Katherine..." Barry began, his voice pleading_

_ Katherine rolled her eyes. "I want you to shoot me with a blank." She said to him._

_ Barry looked at her in confusion. "You want to fake your own death?" He asked her incredulous._

_ "Yes, and the only ones who will know that I am not dead are you two, my family and my Uncle. Everyone else will think I'm dead."_

_ "Katherine, even if I shoot you with a blank, it could still kill you." He said to her warningly._

_ "Then that is a risk I'm willing to take." She replied with an edge of determined steel in her voice. "I am tired of running and hiding. I can't be... I can no longer live with one foot in my world and one foot in theirs." She replied softly. "I need to make a choice, one or the other, and I love them, so I need to become part of their world. And because I love them I need to make sure that they are safe and that no one is going to try to hunt them down and kill them."_

_ Barry looked at her, too many thoughts and emotions were tumbling around in his eyes to settle on just one, but at the moment worry was winning over the jealousy, shock and disbelief. "I can protect you." He said to her softly._

_ "I know you can. But I would still be running and hiding." She pointed out. "This way I have the opportunity to make sure everyone I love stays safe. The Face needs to be stopped, because even if I were to actually die, he will stop at nothing to make sure the rest of my family pays as well." She took a deep breath. "I don't plan on dying Barry. I have too much to live __**for**__. But I have thought about it and I think I have come up with a plan. But I need your help and I need Deon's help. There are a few things I don't know how to work out, but you are both experienced in combat situations, so I am hoping that your experience will be able to help me. Please." She asked him beseechingly._

_ Barry shot a look at Deon who shrugged. "I don't really know what's going on, Deon began, "But it is true that sometimes you need a certain kind of bait to catch the big fishes." Barry glared at his friend who looked back impassively, his friend's glare not bothering him one bit. "She's just going to do it on her own if we say no. At least if we help it's possible that she'll still be alive at the end of this." Deon rationally pointed out. _

_ Barry opened his mouth to retort and then closed it with a snap. Barry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine." He ground out._

_ Katherine smiled thankfully. "Thank you." She said to him._

_ Barry looked down at her with narrowed, worried eyes. "Thank me when this is all over and you're still alive." He replied softly._

_ Katherine gave a curt nod as she began laying out her plan, and what she needed help with. "My mother still has friends in the movie business so I know how to make a blood squib and set up a timed blood explosion, but we'll need to use my blood or else CSI's won't believe I was really killed and I can do some pretty convincing make-up for the bullet wound, but...once The Face knows I'm dead, how do we lure him out to somewhere where we can do something about him?"_

_ "We need the enemy to be where we want him to be." Barry said thoughtfully._

_ "Make-up won't be enough to convince paramedics that you are dead." Deon said with a shake of his head. "If they find any vital signs they will do everything they can to save your life." Deon said interrupting Barry's train of thought._

_ "Could you be there to pronounce me dead?" Katherine asked Deon. "Could you be the paramedic?"_

_ Deon shook his head. "Something like that would be too hard to pull off. Most paramedics have a partner, and if you want Barry to shoot you, we would have to bring in someone else, and I don't think that is a risk you can take." Deon pointed out._

_ Katherine frowned in thought as she tried to come up with some way to fool the paramedics._

_ "No." Barry said with a shake of his head. Deon was looking at Barry speculatively. "Absolutely not."_

_ "But it would work." Deon insisted._

_ "I don't care, that drug is only in the testing stages. It has never even been tested on humans." Barry protested._

_ "What drug?" Katherine asked curiously._

_ "Nothing." Barry said at the same time Deon said "Torporzine."_

_ "Frogs and turtles and other animals can hibernate, their bodies vital signs dropping so low as to be in a state of static stasis." Deon informed her. "Barry's father's company has been attempting to develop a drug that would allow humans to enter this state." _

_ "Okaaaay. Why?" She asked._

_ "It could have many uses." Barry said somewhat defensively. "It could be used to subdue enemy prisoners, or help patients with critical illnesses. The possibilities are endless. But as I said, the drug hasn't been tested on humans, only monkeys and it only has a hibernating window of 4 hours. If adrenalin isn't administered straight to the heart after 4 hours your body will shut down and you will die. And that is only __**if**__ the Torporzine doesn't kill you first."Barry stated grimly._

_ "How long do the effects take to happen?" She asked Deon._

_ "Seconds." He answered._

_ "So if I put the blood squibs beneath my dress and the pressure from the shattering bullet broke the bag allowing my blood to spill out over a bullet wound that I had already been artfully applied, and Deon stood behind me injecting me with this Torporzine, would this convince the EMTs that I was dead?" She asked Deon, ignoring Barry's sputtering protests._

_ "Yes." Deon said with a nod._

_ "Then that takes care of my death, but how do we flush The Face out?" Katherine asked as Barry looked at her in angry resignation. _

_ "I think I have an idea." Barry growled under his breath. "How much do you trust Karai Saki?" He asked._

_ "About as far as I can throw her." Katherine answered promptly._

_ "Do you think she will confront The Face if she is able to and would be able to...subdue him?" Barry asked instead._

_ Katherine thought about the question and then nodded. "Yes. Karai's hatred of the Face is not feigned. I believe that given the opportunity she would probably kill him."_

_ Barry nodded as he began to outline his plan. He was going to send Mr. White a business card along with a photograph proving that Katherine was still alive. Mr. White would be curious enough to call the number on the card. Barry would then lure The Face into the open with a business proposition. The fact that Mr. White would have failed to kill Katherine would no doubt send The Face into a rage. They could only hope that Mr. White actually took the information to The Face and that The Face didn't outright kill Mr. White. Though if he did they supposed that Mr. White's death would not be any real loss. All they really needed was for The Face to show up at the Mt. Sinai morgue, and this is where Karai would come in. _

_ Barry would pass a note to Karai telling her where and when to be, but not why and hope that curiosity would persuade her to actually go to the morgue at the appointed time. _

_ And then this was the part of the plan that would get a little dicey. Deon would have to come and collect Katherine's 'corpse' by posing as a coroner before the actual coroner came to take her 'corpse' to be autopsied at the Police station downtown. From there her body would be 'transferred' before autopsy and 'cremated'. For this Barry would wield his own considerable influence because once Deon picked her up, he was going to try to get her out of her hibernation-like sleep. If the Torporzine killed her then Deon could have her body sent to her family and she would be cremated. If neither the bullet or the Torporzine killed her she would hunt down Mr. White._

_ They also had contingency plans in place in case something went wrong. If The Face did not show up in person Barry would still wait for a phone call and track down The Face and kill him, even if it took months. If Katherine was killed by either the bullet or the Torpozine then Barry would continue to lead Mr. White on a wild goose chase around the city until an appointed time, where Barry would turn of his phone. Deon will have a clone of Barry's phone and the signal will be switched on leading Mr. White to Deon instead of Katherine. Deon would then dispatch Mr. White_

_ The plans were not foolproof, nor were they without their share of problems, but it was a start. And they had to also plan for any fallout resulting from The Face's death, mainly a city wide turf war, and Karai's traitor was also a factor in all of this as well. But Katherine would deal with all of those if and when they came up._

_ Of course Katherine knew the hardest part was going to be not telling any of the brothers of her plans, because they would never let her carry out anything this dangerous, or risky. But they did not understand that she would do anything to protect them and her child._

_Which meant that only things she had left to plan was trying to figure out how she was A) going to sneak out of the lair. B) make it so that none of the brothers would accidentally find out she was 'dead'. And C) How to arrange it so that April and Casey didn't spill the beans either. _

_ She began planning how to solve problems A, B, and C after Toshiro was born. _

_ Problem A was solved by the fact that most of the brothers tended to be busy in the evening, and she knew how to disarm all of Donatello's alarms. Sneaking off to sleep with a baby that had kept her up all night was a good excuse. _

_ Problem B was solved because Michelangelo tended to have movie nights every Thursday, and this worked out well because the day of the Museum's exhibit opening fell on a Thursday. So on the day of the Exhibit opening Michelangelo would hog the TV for the evening and hopefully the news of her death would not reach their ears until everything was over and she actually came back to tell them what had happened. _

_ Problem C was solved by the hiring of a babysitter for April and Casey to go out on a date with dinner and dancing at an exclusive night club. They would be gone for hours and not return until midnight. _

_ And problem D, which she didn't know she was going to have, was if the brothers decided to put Toshiro down for a nap they would notice that she wasn't in the bedroom. This problem was solved by the brothers all wanting to take turns looking after Toshiro during the evenings. Which meant when Katherine left the lair that evening it was Donatello's night with Toshiro, so his cradle was sitting in Donatello's bedroom. She just had to hope no one went into Raphael's bedroom early and found her missing, and if they did, hopefully they would think that she just went out for some air since she hadn't been out of the lair in 6 months._

Katherine pulled the wig from her head, changed out of her bloodstained dress and began slipping into a skin tight military prototype jumpsuit. It was laced with the thinnest Kevlar around and was black camouflage mixed with greys and whites that was designed to fool the human eye into thinking that she wasn't there if she didn't want to be seen. To this she added light grey gloves, a dark grey hooded cape with white lining, and lastly she added a long, curly white wig.

"Let's go find Mr. White and then we will track down Barry and tell him I'm not dead." She said to Deon as he helped her out of the back of the Coroners van and into his own car which he had left in the parking garage they had pulled into.

Deon gave a nod of agreement as he slammed his car into gear as they drove to find a nice secluded spot for Mr. White to stumble upon them.

* * *

><p><strong>Mr. White<strong> pulled into the darkened alleyway close to the Museum. He placed the fedora on his head, pulled his jacket collar up and slid the guy Fawkes mask in place. He checked his gun and made sure it was loaded and the safety was off. He wasn't going to take any chances. He slid his gun back into its holster and opened his door, stepping out into the inky blackness of the alley.

Night had finally fallen and although he could still hear the breaking of glass and the occasional gunshot or scream in the distance. The chaos that had begun to engulf the city seemed to have been subverted to a certain extent. Not that he really cared one way or the other, but it would be nice to still _have_ a city to rule once he recruited the sniper, Mr. Green.

He squinted into the darkness looking for any sign of Mr. Green.

"Hello Eugene, did you miss me?" A soft, silky and yet wholly familiar voice asked as the sound danced and slid along his skin like an evil invitation.

Mr. White turned quickly but could see no one. "Who are you? And how do you know my name?" He asked the darkness softly. No one knew his name and his own mother believed he was dead. It was impossible.

"Oh I think we both already know the answer to that question. Eugene Orvill Ash. Mr. White very clever as the colour of Ash is White." The disembodied voice of Katherine Wraith replied a hint of amusement in her voice.

"It's impossible." He said as he turned in a circle, searching the shadows for any signs of movement. He ripped off his mask and threw it to the ground to allow himself a better look around.

"I wouldn't say impossible, just highly improbable."

"You're dead." He stated. "I saw you lying in the morgue. I'm just dreaming this, it's all in my head." He said drawing his gun and holding it in an unsteady hand.

"Which is worse I wonder? Thinking your mind has completely snapped and that you are ready for a straight jacket and a padded room? Or believing a dead woman is haunting you from beyond the grave to get her revenge? Tough choice." She said as Mr. White felt pain rip through the flesh of his upper arm.

Mr. White looked at his jacket in horror as he aimed his gun and randomly began shooting into the blackened shadows of the alley.

Pain lashed through his thigh as he looked at his blood stained pants. He emptied his clip, his forearm the next target for the phantom's revenge fuelled attack.

Mr. White turned and ran. His mind was filled with so much terror that he hadn't stopped to think to jump in his car, he just ran blindly, desperate to get away from the hell spawned ghost.

He heard laughter tinkling behind him as he slammed head first into a police officer.

* * *

><p><strong>Officer Samuel Hendricks<strong> grimaced as he strode down a side street. New York was in chaos, but the rioting and the looting had begun to die down due to the high numbers of police and tactical units that had been brought in to subdue the unrest and trouble makers.

He had just been caught up in the middle of it. He wasn't even on duty, nor was New York in his jurisdiction. He had just come to lay flowers on the steps of the museum to pay his respects to the woman he had helped when she had been involved in a car accident, and who he had asked out on a date not even realizing who she was. After knowing who she was he had not been surprised she had said 'no' to him, especially after seeing the picture of the man who was taking her to the charity event at the museum. On the other hand he had felt a little proud of himself that he _had_ asked her out to begin with.

Of course all of these feelings had turned to devastated shock and horror after learning of her murder. He had talked with her and shared a few moments in time with her and he felt that he owed it to himself and to her to place some flowers at the spot where she had been killed.

A fast running body suddenly slammed into him knocking him to the ground.

"Arrest me, arrest me." The man pleaded as he grabbed Samuel by the lapels of his coat. "Please, please arrest me before she kills me. I'll tell you everything." He stammered out in a rush of words that were barely understandable.

"Just calm down sir." Samuel said as he stood, helping the frightened man to his feet. The man looked around, his movements jerky and terror filled.

"She's coming to get me, you have to stop her." He said to him, all of the whites of his wide eyes showing.

Samuel looked around but could not see anyone else in the alley. "Who is coming to get you?" He asked trying to calm the hysterical man down.

"Katherine Wraith, she promised she was going to kill me. Dead or alive she was going to kill me and now she's here!" He shouted, spittle dripping down his chin.

"Sir, Katherine Wraith was killed earlier tonight..." He began calmly.

"I know that you idiot!" The disturbed man roared, shaking him. "I was the one who hired the shooter to kill her!" The man turned slightly in Samuel's grip as if listening to something. "I'm sorry! Okay! I'm sorry! It wasn't personal! I was just doing my job!" He shouted into the darkness desperately.

Samuel looked at the man in shock. He had just confessed to accessory to murder by hiring the shooter who killed Katherine Wraith. Samuel's knuckles tightened around the man's arms.

The man winced in pain but would not focus on him, instead he shouted again into the darkness. "It was you, wasn't it? You got your revenge against The Face and his sister. You killed them!" He accused the dark.

No one answered back as Samuel turned the suspect around roughly. "You are under arrest, you have the right to..."

"I will tell them everything!" He shouted into the darkness of the alley. "I'll tell them how you killed Hunter Mason because he held you hostage and tortured you for a week. I'll tell them that I kidnapped you and put a bomb around your neck forcing you to shoot and kill your lover. I'll tell them that you did it to save that little girl I kidnapped. It wasn't your fault, none of it was. It was all the Mason family's fault. You...you can go to your rest with a clean conscience."

Samuel looked at the man in stunned horror at the accusations and events that were streaming from his mouth.

"You are not convincing me. You are not going to plead down to insanity you low life murdering sack of shit." Samuel growled angrily as the bile rose up in his throat as he roughly began to handcuff the suspect. He turned the suspect around and watched as the man turned pure white, his eyes widening in terror as he began to shake uncontrollably.

Blood burst from a sudden slash that appeared in the man's neck. Samuel jumped back drawing his gun from his holster as he furiously scanned the alley looking for who and what had just killed the man in front of him.

He saw a flash of white ascend to the rooftops, but he couldn't be absolutely sure at what he had seen, because he refused to write in his report that he had seen the ghost of a dead woman exacting her revenge on the man who had set out to kill her.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> looked down at the scene below her. "Sorry Officer Hendricks." She said softly as she unbuckled herself from her zip line. She had recognized the police officer who had been so nice to her after she had been in her car accident. She was just sorry that he was the one who had witnessed Mr. White's death.

She winced in pain as she snapped the thin nylon cord and it began to disintegrate. One of Mr. White's bullets had managed to find it's mark grazing her shoulder slightly. It was only a scratch, but it still bled more than she would have thought. She would have to tell Barry to get his tech guys to make sure the entire suit was bullet proof, not just the torso and thighs. "Barry, you are so my Q." She said as she ran across the rooftop to meet up with Deon who was waiting for her a block over. Once she had made it to his car they drove in search of Barry whose phone would be active again, though calls to it had gone unanswered.

Deon pulled up behind a very familiar truck and Katherine felt her heart sink into the vicinity of her feet. She ripped off her gloves and slid from Deon's car a feeling of trepidation filling her heart with every passing moment. She looked down the darkened alley at the crouched or kneeling figures who were illuminated by the headlights of Barry's car.

Her mind could barely process what her eyes were telling her had happened. For a brief moment the thought that Barry had shot one of the brothers flitted through her mind only to be quickly dismissed. She did not believe that Barry would ever be able to shoot them. She heard Raphael's voice raised in anger and fear. She scanned the figures wondering who was hurt and she felt herself pale when she realized it was Michelangelo's mask that was missing from the sea of coloured masks.

She stumbled slightly, but felt a moment's slight relief when she heard Michelangelo answer Raphael. But his voice was extremely weak and she knew instinctively that Michelangelo was dying.

Tears pricked her eyes threatening to fall, but she blinked them back. _I will not lose him. _She thought to herself with determination.

She ran up behind Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello, who did not seem to even hear her approach, focused as they were on their dying brother on the ground.

Michelangelo's slightly glazed eyes found her own and he looked confused for a moment as he answered a question that Katherine had not heard because of the rush of blood that pumped through her ears at her terror.

"It…I didn't think it was that bad." Michelangelo answered softly.

"Not that bad! Mikey you were shot! How could you…" Raphael roared, but Michelangelo seemed to have come to a certain understanding.

Katherine reached out a pale hand.

"S'okay Raphie." Michelangelo whispered softly. "Kitten's here." Michelangelo reached out his free hand towards her.

No one existed in that moment but her and Michelangelo. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed into Michelangelo's resigned light brown eyes. She had a flash of understanding that Michelangelo was letting go. He was telling himself and his brothers that it was okay for them to let him go, because he wasn't going to die alone, Katherine was here for him, because they all believe her to be dead.

She grasped his cold hand in her warm one, as if holding his hand would somehow stop him from slipping away."Don't you dare die on me Michelangelo." She whispered firmly. But watched in horror as Michelangelo peaceful eyes slid closed and his body went limp.

* * *

><p><strong>I know I am so evil because everyone wants to know what hapens to Mikey, but I had some loose ends to tie up and now everyone knows what happened with Katherine so I figure it isn't all bad;)<strong>

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome:) and Don't worry, we will get back to Mikey next chapter:D**


	30. Chapter 30

**Hey all, so everyone wondering what is going on with Mikey, please read on!:)**

**And a huge thank you to Amonraphoenix who beta reads my stories and makes them even better! You are sooooo awesome!**

**And thank you to my reviewers Margui, mela989898, chibiwolf33, Diana Fay, Forgottenforever and dondena, thank you all sooo much!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 30<span>

**Michelangelo** fell to his knees and then to the ground. The pain that had been slowly building had become too much for him to bear, and then the pain had begun to lessen. His world had gone black spotted and he couldn't even feel the press of the asphalt on his clothing or skin. His body felt heavy and lethargic, like it would have been too much effort to even keep his eyes open. He let out a painful hiss of air. He needed to sleep, but Raphael wouldn't stop yelling at him.

"Mikey you idiot, that bullet was meant for me!" Raphael roared in anguish.

Michelangelo couldn't see his brother's face clearly anymore. It was as if all of his brothers now had white halos surrounding them. His tongue almost felt too big for his mouth, or maybe it was just too much effort to speak, but he forced himself to answer his brother anyway. "Toshiro already lost his mother, can't have him lose his father too."

Michelangelo closed his eyes but opened them tiredly once again when Donatello spoke to him, a note of panic in his voice. "Mikey, why didn't you say something?"

Michelangelo tried to remember what Donatello had asked, finally answering, "It…I didn't think it was that bad." It had been just a hard pinch to his side. He had just thought that it was a flesh wound, something Donatello could easily patch up later. After all, they had more important things to worry about, like finding Katherine's killer.

"Not that bad! Mikey you were shot! How could you…" Raphael snarled his voice hitching in remorse and panic.

But Michelangelo's attention was caught by the stunning angel who was running towards him, her white wings flying out behind her, her hand outstretched towards him.

"S'okay Raphie." His voice was heavy, thick and slightly slurred. "Kitten's here." He said as he reached out his hand, because he didn't hurt anymore. His body was growing cold and numb. And Katherine had come for him. He hadn't expected to see her so soon, hadn't wanted to see her so soon, but he was glad that when he died, he wouldn't be alone.

A warm hand slid into his cold one. It felt oddly solid and he wondered if he had died already.

"Don't you dare die on me Michelangelo." Katherine's voice reverberated in his head. _Didn't she realize how tired he was?_ He wondered. _Besides nothing hurt anymore and Katherine was here with him. Why didn't she want him to be with her?_ _Wasn't she lonely?_

"You fight to live Michelangelo, you hear me?" She growled softly in his ear.

Michelangelo closed his eyes and remembered his brothers. _She probably wants me to live for my brothers so they wouldn't be sad._ Michelangelo thought to himself as he became more detatched from the pain and his thoughts became harder to hold onto. He was barely even aware of the warm hand that clutched his own in an almost painful grip. The voices that surrounded him seemed to be getting farther and farther away. The strange wetness that clung to his side was growing cold and the warm arms that wrapped around his body were growing less solid.

He couldn't remember why he was lying on the ground anymore, but he knew he was dying. He tried to open his eyes, one last time, to look at his a family. But he was so tired. He struggled and then gave into the darkness that dragged him into painless oblivion

* * *

><p><strong>Raphael<strong> felt Katherine's voice flow over his skin like a gentle caress, forming goose bumps in its wake. Raphael wanted to turn and look at her, but at the same time he didn't know if he could handle seeing the spirit of the woman he loved. Even worse, would be not seeing her and knowing that Michelangelo had reached the point of dying where he could see the dead, and if that was the case, his brother was beyond saving.

"You fight to live Michelangelo, you hear me?" Katherine growled as Michelangelo's eyes peacefully slid closed and his body went limp.

"Mikey?" Raphael asked his baby brother in a small, stunned voice as Michelangelo lay as still as death in Raphael's arms.

"He's unconscious," Katherine said in a low voice. "Donatello snap out of it and get moving, he's going to bleed to death, you have to get him back to the lair, now!" Katherine barked. "Deon!"

A hulking man emerged out of the darkness with a paramedic's bag which was hastily set on the ground and opened with a click. "Uh…he's not…" The man named Deon stammered.

"Not human I know," Katherine snapped hurriedly. "Moving on, he's been shot. Donatello, Deon is a doctor, he can help you, but we need to get Michelangelo back to the lair, **NOW**!"

Donatello nodded sharply, seeming to shake himself out of his shock and horror. "There's a backboard in the truck. Leo, apply pressure to the wound, we need to stop the bleeding." Donatello said as Barry seemed to shake himself and ran for the stretcher at Katherine's order. "Mikey, you can't go to sleep okay, just...I know you are probably really tired, but I need you to stay with me." Donatello softly instructed their baby brother, gently patting his cheek. Michelangelo's eyes partially opened sluggishly in response to Donatello's words and touch.

Tears pricked Raphael's eyes in relief and grief as he finally allowed himself to turn his head to look at _her_.

She looked as he remembered her, though her hair was longer and she was dressed from head to toe in a suit with black, white and grey patterns. The dark grey cloak she wore trailed down her back as her eyes looked down on him angrily."None of you are supposed to be here." She snapped angrily.

He opened his mouth but no words came out. He was suddenly standing, Katherine clutched tightly in his arms. It was her, she was real, not just some figment of his imagination. "You're alive." His voice was the barest whisper, tears of relief streaming down his face.

Barry ran back with the stretcher as Raphael pulled back enough to watch as Donatello and Deon gently moved Michelangelo onto the stretcher and strapped him down.

"His blood pressure is low and his breathing is becoming laboured." Deon announced grimly as he and Donatello lifted the stretcher and quickly walked towards the truck.

"Barry can you drive?" Katherine questioned as Barry nodded.

Raphael looked back at Katherine. "We need to go, now." She growled as she pulled away. "Leonardo, snap out of it, I'm not dead." Katherine said as she shook Leonardo's shoulder.

Leonardo slowly turned his head, tears glittered in his brother's eyes, but underneath the relief was fear and anger.

"If you are even thinking of lecturing me Leonardo, just wait until I get through with the lecture I am going to give to you." Katherine growled dangerously as she pulled Leonardo to his feet. Leonardo wrapped Katherine in his arms, burying his face in her neck. She hugged him back but quickly pulled away and ran towards the waiting truck.

Raphael and Leonardo followed closely on her heels leaping into the back of the truck and slamming the doors closed. Barry started the engine and slammed the truck into gear stepping on the gas, the truck jerking forward in a squeal of tires and the smell of burning rubber on asphalt.

Katherine stumbled forward as she tumbled into the front passenger seat.

"Donatello?" Leonardo asked softly as he and Raphael settled close to Michelangelo's pale, still form, as the interior lights Donatello had recently installed in the truck, blazed to life.

Donatello pulled a bag of blood from the small fridge in the corner. "He's lost a lot of blood." He said softly as he hooked another IV bag onto the portable IV stand."I'm surprised he's lasted this long." Donatello pronounced with disbelief. "The bullet has pierced his side and...and it is still inside him. He's haemorrhaging internally, but I won't know what internal damage he has suffered until we get him home." Donatello looked at Michelangelo, his face covered with an oxygen mask, an IV line emptying into his brother's arm. "If he lives that long." He pronounced grimly as Deon quickly covered Michelangelo with another thick blanket.

Katherine slid from her seat and settled closer to Michelangelo, trying not to get in the way of Deon and Donatello.

Michelangelo hissed in pain as Donatello began packing his wound with sterile gauze.

"Hold on Michelangelo." Katherine whispered to him.

"It hurts." Michelangelo choked out, his eyes, glazed over with excruciating pain, opened slightly.

"I know." Katherine replied softly giving his hand a slight, reassuring squeeze.

Tears began to stream down Michelangelo's cheeks as he tried to writhe in pain, but couldn't because of the straps that held him down. "I can't" Michelangelo protested, the mask over his mouth and nose fogging with each word. Michelangelo's gaze became unfocused. "I wish Raph and Leo could see you Kitten." Michelangelo said sadly as he closed his eyes again.

"Barry, drive faster!" Katherine ordered as the occupants of the truck looked to Donatello whose fingers checked for a pulse.

"He's unconscious," Donatello answered their silent question softly. "But his breathing is becoming more laboured. It's possible that the bullet struck his lung." Donatello said with partial relief, his voice still laced with worry. "Hold on Mikey, we're almost home." Donatello said as he looked out the front window.

"Katherine!" Leonardo suddenly barked sharply.

"You four were supposed to be at home with Toshiro. Where is he and why are you here?" Katherine interrupted Leonardo from lecturing her any further.

"With April and Casey." Raphael answered. "Now you wanna tell me why I watched you get shot on TV and thought you were dead!" Raphael asked his temper flaring as worry for Michelangelo warred with relief over finding out that Katherine was alive and well.

"We came to get revenge for your murder. That is why…"Leonardo began answering Katherine's second question before she interrupted him again.

"Why were you out getting revenge?" Katherine asked angrily as tears shimmered in her eyes. "Revenge would not bring me back if I was dead. It would not heal the wound or calm the sorrow in your hearts. You both promised me that you would not seek revenge... "

"Against the Purple Dragons." Raphael interrupted.

"Because I never wanted any of you hurt because you decided to risk yourselves for something as petty as revenge. And you weren't supposed to know that I was 'dead'." Katherine ground out through clenched teeth. "It was the only way to lure The Face out. It was the only way I could make sure that all of you were safe."

"And what about you!" Raphael yelled in angry exasperation.

"We are the ones who are supposed to keep you safe." Leonardo growled dangerously.

"Why, because I am a woman I have to hide behind you, is that it?" She asked in an equally dangerous voice.

"No. It is because I could never bear to lose you." Leonardo answered softly his shoulders slumping slightly as he looked away from Katherine, tears rising in his eyes. "You've already suffered too much. And now you are throwing away your whole outside life!" Leonardo responded bitterly, his eyes straying to where Michelangelo lay on the floor, Deon and Donatello adding more bandages on top of the blood soaked ones.

"I couldn't live in both worlds any longer." She answered, her anger lessening slightly. "I needed to either be a part of your world or walk away from you all completely, and I could never do that. So I needed to be free, but I never wanted my freedom to come at the cost of Michelangelo's life." Katherine choked out as the truck pulled to an abrupt stop.

"We'll put him in my lab." Donatello said to Deon as the back of the truck was thrown open by Barry. Barry helped Deon lift Michelangelo out of the truck while Donatello ran ahead to make preparations for surgery.

April and Casey ran into the garage took one look at Michelangelo's pale, limp form and paled.

"He's been shot, but we don't know how badly." Donatello said to April's unasked question.

"Toshiro and Shadow are sleeping upstairs." April said with a waver of emotion in her voice as her green eyes filled with tears. "We just fed them both and put them back to bed."

Raphael nodded as Michelangelo was rushed into Donatello's lab and gently placed on the table that Donatello used as his operating table. The IV bags were hung on a nearby IV pole and the heart monitor was placed on Michelangelo's finger. Donatello grabbed a pair of scissors and began cutting away Michelangelo's clothing while Deon placed a thick sheet over Michelangelo to keep him warm until they were ready to begin.

"We need to roll him onto his left side and push his carapace off the table." Donatello said as he quickly began removing the blood soaked bandages from his brother's injured side. Donatello began pulling the gauze carefully from the wound to get a better look. "Shit!" Donatello exclaimed in panicked horror as he probed the wound deeply.

Raphael felt his eyes ridges rise and then his face pale at Donatello's foul language. Donatello rarely, if ever swore, which meant that Michelangelo's injury was incredibly serious.

"The bullet ripped through his kidney," Deon observed quietly. "Might have bounced around a bit in there too, judging by the fact that there is no exit wound. Looks like the bullet could be lodged in his liver." Deon said with a deep frown. "You ever do a simple nephrectomy before? Because I know I haven't. Might have to do a partial hepatectomy as well. I've done a lot of surgeries in field hospitals, but nothing this complicated and not on...a..uh...giant...er...turtle."

"I've never done either, but I know how and I don't have a choice." Donatello pronounced grimly.

Deon nodded but grumbled with a shake of his head. "Great, the blind leading the blind."

"What the hell is a neph...nephre...What the hell are you two talking about? Would somebody please just speak English!" Raphael roared at Donatello in fear laced trepidation as he looked at Michelangelo's pale features, the heart monitor continuing to beep, but the beeping was becoming weaker and weaker.

"I need to remove one of Mikey's kidneys." Donatello said with a steadying intake of breath as he put a fresh pad on the wound to stop the bleeding. "The bullet entered his kidney and blew a hole out the other side, and it can't be reconstructed. After that I will have a look at Mikey's liver to determine what damage has occurred to that organ as well...and I might have to remove some of it."

"But if you take out Mikey's kidney and his liver...doesn't he need those?" Raphael asked in confused horror.

"He can get by with only one kidney and his liver will grow back in time, but..." Donatello looked at the heart monitor. "Mikey's blood pressure needs to be higher before I can operate or else he could bottom out and go into cardiac arrest if I sedate him with a low blood pressure."

"Okay so Mikey loses a kidney and part of his liver, but he's gonna be fine, right?" Raphael asked his voice growing less certain with the increasing grimness of Donatello's features.

"Tell us Donny." Leonardo ordered softly but firmly.

Donatello took a shaky breath. "With the damage and the risk of the operation...he...has a 15% survival rate." Donatello pronounced bleakly to his brother and friends.

"Fif...fif-_teen_?" Raphael choked out in horror.

Donatello nodded. "I...I'm going to do everything I can but..." Donatello shook his head. His head swivelled as he looked at the heart monitor which stopped sounding it's alarm. "Blood pressure has stabilized. Let's get him prepped." Donatello said as he and Deon began strapping Michelangelo's shoulder and hip down. They moved the leg that Michelangelo was lying on and bent it at the knee bringing it up as Donatello shoved a large towel beneath Michelangelo's side, elevating the wound. Michelangelo groaned in pain at the treatment.

Donatello's eyes widened in surprise as he darted over to a cabinet filled with little vials of medicine. Donatello scrambled for a syringe as he grabbed one of the vials. He put the needle into the top and pulled the plunger, sucking the clear liquid into the needle. Donatello ran back to Michelangelo who Deon was trying to calm.

"Donny, it hurts." Michelangelo gasped weakly, his eyes partially open.

"I know Mikey." Donatello said soothingly as Raphael looked on helplessly. "I'm going to give you a sedative, okay? And then you will wake up good as new, alright little brother?" Donatello said softly as he put the sedative into the IV line.

Michelangelo's face, which had been contorted in pain began to relax. Donatello looked at everyone who was assembled in the room. He looked at Deon who gave him subtle nod. He let Deon take over looking after Michelangelo for a moment as Donatello motioned the rest of them all to the side. Donatello began softly. "It...it may be best to...to say goodbye...just." Donatello's voice hitched. "Just in case." He managed to finish.

Raphael saw spots begin to flicker in front of his eyes. April made a gasp of denial as she buried her face into Casey's chest and broke out sobbing as Leonardo slowly made his way to Michelangelo's side.

"Hey Mikey." Leonardo said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Leonardo grasped Michelangelo's cold hand in his own, gently kneading his brother's hand.

"Hey Leo." Michelangelo said with a slight lopsided smile.

"You're going to be fine. Donny's got you and you'll be up and playing all of your practical jokes and watching your really bad movies in no time." Leonardo managed to choke out with his fake smile plastered on his face.

"Kay." Michelangelo said groggily.

"But, I just wanted to tell you that..." Leonardo's voice hitched and it took him a moment to compose himself. "You are the best baby brother that anyone could have asked for, and I love you so much." Leonardo was unable to stop the tear that drifted down his cheek. He gave Michelangelo's hand a final reassuring squeeze and bent down to give his brother a tender kiss on the forehead before April stepped up with Casey. The pair said a few heartfelt words and stepped out of the way for Raphael, who had managed to make his leaden feet move the few feet towards his dying brother's side.

Raphael settled close to Michelangelo and took his hand in his own.

"It's okay Raphie. It hardly even hurts anymore." Michelangelo said weakly.

Raphael felt tears well in his eyes at his brother's nickname for him, and he couldn't stop the salty trails that rolled down his cheeks. "You're gonna be fine Mikey." Raphael wiped at his damp cheeks with his free hand. "And when you're better I'm gonna kick your ass for scaring me so badly and for jumping in front of that bullet. But, thank you, for saving my life bro." He told his brother softly"

Michelangelo gave a weak smile. His eyes had a half glazed look that indicated that the sedative was beginning to work its way through his brother's system. "You always knew just how to get under my skin, but I wouldn't trade that for the world." Raphael wiped his face again as he continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "You...I love you Mikey. I love you so much, please, please...just...just stay with us." Raphael pleaded, choking on his words as he touched his forehead to his brother's and wrapped one arm carefully around Michelangelo, giving his brother a soft, one armed hug.

"Love you too Raphie." Michelangelo's voice was heavy, slow and slightly slurred. "I'll try, but...I won't be lonely Raphie, Kitten's still here, waiting for me...but...I don't think she wants me to go so...I am so tired Raphie...so, so tired. Can I please close my eyes...just for a little bit...?" Michelangelo asked as he fought to keep his eyes open.

"Sure little bro, you go to sleep and I'll be right here when you wake up." Raphael said softly as he fought back his tears.

Raphael pulled away then and looked over his shoulder at Katherine. Her eyes were pale and full of fury. He blinked in shock as Donatello took up Michelangelo's hand. "How are you feeling Mikey?" Donatello asked softly.

"Sleepy." Michelangelo answered in a soft voice.

"I'm going to do everything I can to get you through this, okay Mikey?" Donatello told his brother gently.

"Mmhmm." Was all Michelangelo answered.

"I love you little brother." Donatello said quietly as he motioned for Katherine to step forward.

She crouched down to that she could talk right in Michelangelo's ear. "I am not saying goodbye." She hissed fiercely as she glared at Raphael and all of his brothers before focusing her attention back on Michelangelo. "You made a promise to Toshiro, Michelangelo. You promised that you were going to show Toshiro all the best horror movies when he gets older. So you fight to live and don't you dare leave us." She said to him sternly. "Because I won't be able to forgive you if you do. Do you understand Michelangelo?"

Michelangelo smiled slightly in response to her words. "I love you too Kitten." He whispered softly as his body went limp, the drug finally taking hold.

Katherine straightened and turned to Donatello, looking at him angrily. Donatello looked back at her in shock as she stepped towards Donatello who instinctively took a step back under her furious gaze. "Now you listen to me, all of you." She said angrily as her gaze took in everyone in the room. "You all have Michelangelo dead and buried in the ground already, so stop it!"

"Katherine..." Donatello protested softly.

"We're not giving up on Mikey." Leonardo insisted as he interrupted Donatello. "But...wouldn't you have like to say goodbye to your brother and father if you had of had the chance?" He wondered softly.

If it were possibly Katherine paled even more. "No." She said with a shake of her head. "I was just a child with only a child's understanding. It would have given me no comfort, or them. And it would have felt like I was giving up on them, and I refuse to give up or lose anyone else who I love." She took a deep calming breath and continued, her gaze still overly bright with unshed tears and anger. "Fifteen percent isn't zero, but if you think of it like _only_ 15% then you might as well pick out his casket. Even if he had a 1% chance of making it through the surgery that one percent would be less than zero because you don't believe he will make it." Katherine stepped closer to Donatello who let her this time. She gently touched his cheek. "You can do this Donatello. I know you can." She said with conviction as she stepped away and Donatello shook himself from her gaze.

Donatello looked at Deon who shrugged. "I wouldn't say she is wrong." He said as he pulled a mask over his face, Donatello doing the same as Deon began washing his hands and arms with some fancy anti microbial soap Donatello had near the sink. Donatello waited and washed his hands and arms as well, pulling out some rubber gloves for Deon, and a modified pair for Donatello.

"If all of you are going to stay in here, you need to wear masks." Donatello said as he turned his attention back to Michelangelo.

"I could use a cup of tea," Barry pronounced. "Sometimes there can be too many cooks in the kitchen, let's leave them to it." Barry said as he herded April and Casey out of the room. Barry paused before he exited the room. He looked over his shoulder at Katherine. The two shared a look and Barry nodded, turned, and gently closed the door behind him.

Raphael wasn't even curious about Katherine and Barry's silent conversation. He turned his attention back to Donatello who was washing Michelangelo's side down with some sort of pungent solution.

* * *

><p><strong>Donatello<strong> tried to calm his frantically beating heart. He had told his family the worst case scenario, but Katherine was right. If he believed that Michelangelo had only a 15% chance to live, he would only have that much of a chance, but if he believed his brother had better odds, the outcome may tip the scale in his brother's favour.

Donatello's eyes flicked over all of Michelangelo's life support machines. His heart rate and blood pressure were good, he was getting blood and a saline drip and Deon had already placed Michelangelo on the ventilator.

"I would say that you are too close to this" Deon began, "And that your judgement is impaired, but I don't think you have much of a choice." Deon said as Donatello picked up his scalpel.

Raphael moved in, pulling up a chair and holding Michelangelo's hand tightly. Leonardo positioned himself by Michelangelo's feet, a hand lightly placed on Michelangelo's leg.

Katherine walked to Michelangelo's head and removed Michelangelo's mask from over his eyes.

Raphael opened his mouth to protest, but snapped his mouth closed when he looked at Katherine's pale but determined face. She clenched his mask tightly in her fist. Michelangelo probably wasn't aware of her removing his mask, but her message to Michelangelo was clear, either he lived or he didn't get his mask back. It was ridiculous, but at the same time Donatello understood her need to hold onto a piece of Michelangelo.

"Leo, watch Mikey's vital signs okay?" Donatello ordered as he studied his brother's side. Because of their plastron and carapace Donatello was unable to make a proper incision, but did the best he could as he cut into his brother's flesh close to his carapace and angling towards his plastron to where his belly button would be if they had one. The incision was about 2 cm below his 11th rib and it was about 15 inches long when he had finished. Deon helped to use the retractors to open the incision wider and keep it open. Deon took a metal probe and slowly moved Michelangelo's liver out of the way exposing his kidney underneath.

Donatello took up some clamps and clamped off the Aorta and interior vena cava cutting off the blood supply to the kidney. Ever so carefully Donatello began to separate the kidney from the surrounding fat as well as to separate the adrenal gland from the kidney itself. After this was finished Donatello glanced at Michelangelo's vital signs, all of which seemed to be strong and stable. Donatello turned his attention to removing the kidney, the right ureter and part of the renal artery.

He put the mass of destroyed tissue into a bucket that Deon held out for him and caught Raphael out of the corner of his eye turn a sick shade of grey-green as his eyes rolled up in his head and he slumped to the floor. Katherine quickly grabbed Raphael before his head slammed into the hard concrete.

"I got him." Katherine said as Donatello continued with what he was doing. He had been working for over 3 hours and Leonardo was trying to keep him hydrated, which he appreciated, because it was going to be a long night.

Donatello quickly began to suture the Aorta, the interior vena cava and the top of Michelangelo's bladder where he had removed the right ureter. Deon let the liver fall back into place as Donatello probed the organ and gently turned it over. Taking a pair of forceps Donatello managed to extract the bullet and felt his heart drop into his gut with the realization that the left lobe of Michelangelo's liver was badly damaged. The left lobe of the liver made up 40% of the entire liver and it was a lot of the organ to lose. Donatello looked at Michelangelo's peaceful face and had to choke back a sob of despair. _This might be the last moment I see my baby brother alive. _He thought to himself despondently.

"You have to focus." Deon's gentle voice brought Donatello's attention back to the task at hand. "Always know that you did everything you could. Then you will have no reason to blame yourself if the unthinkable happens. Because sometimes no matter how hard we fight and struggle, if it is someone's time, it is someone's time and there is nothing we can do to change that."

Donatello gave a slight nod and began the slow process of dividing the liver, clamping off the blood vessels and ducts going into and out of each section.

Raphael had by this time regained consciousness, but had refused to leave the room.

Donatello paused when he heard Leonard's voice indicating that something was wrong. Donatello looked up and watched Michelangelo's blood pressure begin to fluctuate slightly before stabilizing again.

Leonardo changed out the blood and saline bags as Donatello began to carefully remove the liver, being careful not to damage Michelangelo's gallbladder in the process.

Donatello put Michelangelo's liver in the same bucket as he had Michelangelo's kidney. Raphael was an even duller shade of grey-green, with tiny beads of sweat trickling down his brother's face.

It had been nearly ten hours and Donatello was trying to keep the worry at that had begun to fester in his gut under control.

He removed each clamp and quickly began to suture closed all of the ducts and blood vessels, his brother's blood pressure dipping dangerously low again before stabilizing.

Donatello slowly sutured closed each layer of flesh, all the while listening intently to the heart rate monitor. He was nearing the last layer of the incision when Michelangelo's blood pressure began to drop, but this time he did not stabilize.

"He's going into cardiac arrest!" Deon exclaimed with a curse as Donatello watched in horror as Michelangelo's heart beat sped up too quickly.

Deon prepped the defibrillator, the high pitched squeal of the machine shattered Donatello's already frayed nerves. "Don't you dare do this to me Mikey!" Donatello growled as he felt tears sting his eyes. He slammed the needles through his brother's plastron."Clear!" He shouted as he looked desperately at the heart monitor.

"We're losing him!" Deon yelled as Donatello waited for the machine to charge again.

"Come on Mikey, come on!" He shouted as he shot another charge of electricity through his brother's body, his attention desperately focused on the heart monitor as the flat green line indicated that his brother's heart no longer beat. Donatello looked at the monitor in shock. The steady tone of the flatline rang through his ears and echoed throughout the motionless room.

The sudden cries of denial and the despairing sobs of his family tore his heart in two as he realized that he had failed his baby brother.

He had broken his promise.

"I am so sorry Mikey," Donatello choked out as he broke down, sobbing on Michelangelo's still and silent chest.

* * *

><p><strong>Mikey! Nooooooo!<strong>

**Thoughts and opinions are always welcome**


	31. Chapter 31

**A big giant thank you to Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter for me and for always gioving me awesome ideas and support. You totally rock!:)**

**Also a giant thank you to my reviewers forgottenforever, dondena, puldoh, mela989898, As The Rush Comes, margui and Diana Fay.**

**Please enjoy this chapter it's kind of long;)**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 31<span>

**Raphael** felt the wind softly blow the ties of his mask back from his shoulders. The day of the funeral had dawned overcast and gloomy, with low lying black clouds that threatened rain at any moment. The carrion birds circling overhead felt like small messengers of ill tidings.

The sombre, black procession wound its way slowly up the path like hunched black crows huddled together against the cold in their shared anguish and grief.

The low sorrowful tolling of church bells toned in the distance. Raphael's eyes swept over grey stones covered in moss and engraved with names and dates of people who were no longer mourned or even remembered. His eyes strayed across impossibly green, lush rolling hills, and trees bursting with the colours of the late fall. A crowd of black clad mourners stood around a casket about to be lowered into the partially frozen ground. His throat constricted painfully.

Raphael's mind could not help but remember as Donatello began the grim task of trying to save Michelangelo's life, because his baby brother had taken a bullet that had been meant for him.

_Raphael couldn't bear the guilt that welled from deep within to crush him. He should have been protecting Michelangelo, and because he hadn't, his baby brother's life was now hanging by a thread. Raphael knew that he hadn't been fast enough, hadn't been smart enough, insightful enough, because if he had, he may have been able understand Stockman's intentions before he had implemented them._

_ But he hadn't._

_ And because he hadn't, Michelangelo was dying with Donatello's arms up to his elbows in Michelangelo's guts. _

_ Raphael cringed as he watched Michelangelo, laying on a cold slab of metal having his insides scooped out like some sort of horrific macabre version of a Halloween pumpkin._

_ When the first mass of bloody flesh that Donatello scooped out hit the metal pail with a wet, sickening 'plop,' Raphael felt his world go completely black. He couldn't take it. Even though he knew that Michelangelo would probably laugh at him somehow at being such a wimp. Everyone expected Michelangelo to wuss out, not Raphael, but the truth was, he could take deal with the sight of blood, even his brother's, but organs were just too much for him._

_ He was only out for a moment. Long enough for him to slip from his chair and have his head slam into the ground. And it would have, if it hadn't been for Katherine who probably knew he was going to faint even before he had. Whatever the case, she had managed to make sure that Donatello wouldn't have another brother to try to patch up._

_ When he managed to regain consciousness, his head was pressed into Katherine's shoulder, her arms around him, gently stroking his tear stained cheek._

_ Raphael's stomach did a sickening roll and it took every little bit of strength he had left not to wretch right there on the floor._

_ He looked into Katherine's porcelain pale face and found the strength in her gaze that he needed to swallow down the bile and stay where he was. Michelangelo needed him, because if his brother died on the operating table, he was damn well going to be there to say one last final goodbye. He only prayed that it was not going to come to that._

_ Each small minute click of the clock that went by felt like an eternity. He felt as if he was free falling from a great height, and he could see the ground ever approaching closer and closer, but had grown so weary of the suspense, of waiting for the impact, that he just wished it was over already._

_ Michelangelo's liver made the trip into the bucket and Raphael closed his eyes in horrified revulsion. Organs were supposed to stay inside the body. You weren't supposed to pull out organs and then expect to still be alive afterwards. Even if Michelangelo could survive with only one kidney there was no way that there was enough liver left for him to survive with._

_ Katherine placed her hand in his own, and squeezed gently. He looked down at her tiny alabaster hand clutched in his larger emerald one. The orange of Michelangelo's mask could be seen peeking between their entwined fingers._

_ Raphael swallowed down the lump of dread that had crawled up his throat and made him unable to speak even softly to Katherine, to try to reassure her that Michelangelo was going to be fine. Even though he knew that each word he would have spoken was a lie that even he did not believe._

_ Raphael looked up into Leonardo's worried eyes. His brother's face was a sick shade of grey-green, his eyes so dark they looked almost black._

_ He looked back at Katherine who seemed to be having a silent conversation with Leonardo, who only nodded slightly to whatever it was that she communicated to him. _

_ It was then that the heart monitor began to sound the alarm, it's plaintive wail indicating that Michelangelo's heart was failing and that his blood pressure was dropping rapidly._

_ Raphael clutched Katherine to his plastron as if she were a lifeline. Donatello looked at the heart monitor as if the machine were somehow betraying him, or as if somehow the rapidly falling numbers could not be real. _

The scene played out in Raphael's mind like a slow motion movie picture. The film was a little grainy, but the colours were somehow brighter and bolder than they actually had been at that moment.

_ Michelangelo's blood was so bright against the white of the sheet that covered him, like a crimson flower that had blossomed against a backdrop that was barren alongside the beautiful colour that slowly became darker as it bloomed even more magnificently._

_Deon shouted in his calm controlled voice as Donatello moved quickly trying to figure out what had gone wrong; what had caused his baby brother's vitals to plunge so drastically._

_ The loud wine of the defibrillator charging crawled across his skin as he clutched Katherine even more tightly to his heart._

_ Donatello shouted at Michelangelo, his baby brother's limp body leapt from the table as the charge passed through it. One of Michelangelo's arms flopped off the metal table to swing back and forth slowly. _

_ Donatello glanced at the heart monitor desperately. The tiny beeps growing fewer and father between._

_ Raphael felt his heart plunge into his stomach like a piece of lead._

_ "We're losing him." Deon shouted as Raphael clung to the faint chance that Michelangelo's heart would regain its former activity as another charge of electricity was pumped into his brother's unresponsive body._

_ The steady uninterrupted tone of the heart monitor was the only sound to be heard within the confines of Donatello's lab as the reality of their tragic loss slowly sunk in._

A gentle hand on his shoulder jolted Raphael from his morbid reverie. It didn't have any place here, not really.

He looked over at a grim faced Donatello who gave him a slight nod. Raphael looked at Leonardo, his face pale and sombre, but his older brother deftly avoided his gaze. Raphael felt guilt slowly flow through him as he studied Leonardo's bleak profile, but stomped the guilt down, turning his attention to his arm, smoothing out the black fabric that covered them. He then watched as the simple wooden casket was placed across the straps that would slowly lower it into the hole that had been dug a few days prior.

Raphael's eyes scanned the few faces in the crowd that were familiar to him. Casey, April and Shadow were huddled together, slightly behind the family that stood graveside. Barry and Deon stood silently dressed in black beside Katherine's mother Sheila who wept openly. A very old gentleman, Katherine's uncle Carin stood beside Sheila as well as an older woman. The man Raphael knew to be Katherine's stepfather and two teens who were Katherine's stepbrothers stood silently nearby. Black intermingled with black as the 40 or so mourners silently looked to Sheila and Carin Wraith for direction.

Barry motioned for Sheila to talk to the assembled crowd, but she shook her head, inconsolable in her grief. She motioned for Barry to do the honours instead and he reluctantly nodded, moving away from Sheila to stand at the head of the freshly dug grave.

"I didn't know Katherine for very long," Barry began. "But I think I can speak for everyone when I say that she was an amazing woman, filled with so much light and life, good humour and a heart that embraced everyone." Barry looked across the field then and managed to catch Raphael's eye from where he and his two brothers stood, concealed within the safety of the shadows of a mausoleum. "She was a woman who stood up for others, when they themselves could not, and she would have laid down her life in a moment, without hesitation, to protect those she loved."

Raphael felt his throat constrict with fresh, raw emotion, because even though most people said good things about the dead, every word that Barry had spoken was the absolute truth.

A few other people offered words of condolence and grief, before the casket was lowered into the ground. A few people stopped to throw black roses onto the casket as they slowly made their way across the lawn to where some tents had been set up to offer food and beverages before the mourners made their respected ways home.

Both Donatello and Leonardo carefully slipped away from the family graveyard and towards Balmoral Castle, which was owned by the Wraith family.

Raphael stayed where he was, lost in grim thoughts as a single mourner approached the grave, throwing in a bright yellow rose to land on top of the casket. A bright colour of hope against the dark roses of death. She stood, pondering the grave for a few moments in sombre silence.

Raphael's eyes narrowed in irritation as he recognized Katherine.

"You think you can handle her Raph?" Michelangelo's disembodied voice asked him softly.

Startled Raphael jumped and looked for his baby brother, who he knew couldn't be here.

"I thought you were only scared of bugs Raphie, this cemetery is getting to you." Michelangelo's disembodied voice came again. Raphael spun then, trying to find where his brother's voice was coming from as Michelangelo stepped from behind a hulking angel statue, the sun emerging from behind a cloud, his brother outlined with a golden halo of light.

There had been no sound in the room but the constant steady tone of the flatline.

_ Raphael couldn't believe that he had just lost his baby brother. Never again would he be a victim of Michelangelo's pranks, or hear his brother's warm laughter fill the air, or be there to comfort his brother when he was upset. He shook his head in violent denial as Katherine stood. Donatello stared at the heart monitor as if it was going to change at any moment while Leonardo moved to bury his face in Michelangelo's plastron giving into his silent, grief filled tears. Deon stepped respectively away from Michelangelo's body as Katherine leaned in close to Michelangelo's ear. "Damn it Michelangelo, don't you dare die on me! If you die, I will be very, very angry with you, and if you think for even a moment that being dead will save your sorry ass from my wrath, well, you don't know me very well, because you will never be free of me. I will go to wherever the hell you are and I will drag you back, so you had better get your ass back here and get your heart started again before I make you sorry that you were ever hatched." She threatened dangerously._

_ Her hand clenched Michelangelo's mask tighter, as if by the sheer force of her will alone would change the outcome, and Raphael wasn't sure if it did. Raphael wasn't sure if it was timing, or her actual threat, but a moment later there was the weak, tiny blip of a heartbeat, that was followed by another, that was followed by another._

_ All who were assembled in the room looked at the heart monitor in shocked silence as overwhelming joy and relief washed through Raphael._

_ Donatello and Deon finished stitching Michelangelo up and after a few hours when Michelangelo regained consciousness he said there hadn't been a bright light or anything, just that he felt peaceful and that his blissful peace had been shattered by a sudden unexplainable and uncontrollable fear._

Raphael had cried tears of joy when his baby brother had opened his eyes and spoke to them. And even though the experience was two months ago, it still was fresh in his mind. Katherine's mock funeral bringing to mind the very real realization that for a brief period of time he had believed that he had lost both his lover and his brother, and that thought still had the ability to give him nightmares that woke him up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. The nightmares were filled with the sickeningly sweet smell of copper in the air, the sound of the heart monitor's flatline and the overwhelming sense of crushing guilt and loss ringing in his head.

Raphael frowned at his brother. "What the hell are you doing out here? It's freezing. You know you shouldn't be up and walking around outside Mikey. It's bad enough that you are going to have to be outside later tonight." Raphael growled as he glared at his wayward fiancé who was approached by two young women. He slapped his forehead in irritation but quickly turned his attention back to his baby brother.

"Raph, I'm fine." Michelangelo said in irritation as he tried and failed to suppress a slight cough.

"You are not fine." Raphael growled as he threw his brother's arm across his shoulder supporting his baby brother. "You're stupid... what's it, tried to explode." He studied his brother's face with worry. Michelangelo was a little paler than normal and had lost a bit of weight, but he looked better than he had even a week ago, so that was a good thing.

"Renal artery aneurysm." Michelangelo supplied softly.

"So Donny had to cut you open all over again to fix that and you just got over pneumonia." Raphael said sternly.

Michelangelo began coughing earnestly then, each cough grating on Raphael's nerves which were so frayed with worry and guilt that he didn't know how he was even managing to think about getting married at the moment.

"It's not your fault Raph." Michelangelo said softly after the coughing fit had passed. "I jumped in front of you, this is on me. I made the choice and I would do it again in a heartbeat because you're my brother."

"But..." Raphael began.

"No buts..." Michelangelo interjected firmly. "And to answer your question I am checking to see if there are any hot chicks who may be interested in a slightly damaged mutant ninja turtle."

Raphael felt his throat close up as memories rose up within him. He had been so worried when a few days after the surgery his brother had begun turning a sickly yellowish green. Donatello had told them that he believed Michelangelo's other kidney had begun to fail. The only way to save him would be a kidney transplant. Donatello had run some quick tests and although Raphael was Michelangelo's full brother, Raphael's blood type was not a match, but Leonardo was.

_Leonardo had looked at Donatello with grim determination."Do it Donny." Leonardo had said to their younger brother without hesitation after Donatello had explained the dire situation to them ._

_ Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello were talking quietly together in the lab. Michelangelo was sleeping in his room while Katherine was with Toshiro trying to get him to settle down, but he was having none of it._

_ Katherine had noticed Michelangelo's deterioration, but had not learned of Donatello's grim diagnosis._

_ Donatello just nodded as Raphael looked back and forth between his brother's, a slow feeling of terror creeping up his spine. "Leo, you can't." He protested. Leonardo's eyes widened in shock at Raphael's protest. "You go under that knife," Raphael continued. "We could lose two brothers instead of just one." Raphael said biting back the bile that burned his throat at his words. "There has to be another way." He said desperately to Donatello._

_ Donatello shook his head. "I wish there was Raph, but if Mikey's kidney is failing then this is his only option."_

_ Leonardo placed a comforting hand on Raphael's shoulder. "If I have a chance to save Mikey's life, I have to do it. You would do the same thing for any of us." Leonardo said softly. And even though Raphael knew that Leonardo was absolutely right, and that this was Michelangelo's only option, the thought that he could lose both his brothers filled him with an inconsolable rage filled misery._

_ "I'll get Leo prepped for surgery," Donatello began quietly, "Raph, go get Mikey."_

_ "And don't tell Katherine." Leonardo said as he swiftly pulled off his shirt._

_ "What do you mean don't tell Katherine?" Raphael asked in shock._

_ Leonardo looked at him grimly. "I don't want to have to fight with her Raph."_

_ "What the hell are you talking about?" Raphael asked in confusion._

_ "Do you really think Katherine would let me do this?" Leonardo asked as he leapt up onto the table Donatello had set up for Leonardo._

_ "You think Kitten would tell you not to save Mikey's life?" He asked incredulous._

_ "You did." Leonardo pointed out simply as Raphael felt shame crawl up his neck and darkly stain his cheeks._

_ "That isn't what I meant." He growled back._

_ "Katherine loves Mikey and would do anything for him, but when it comes to my life and yours... she will do anything to protect us no matter the cost." Leonardo paused for a moment before looking away slightly, his head bowed in shame and regret. "Raph, I have failed so many times, too many times. If it costs me my life to save Mikey's, I'll pay that price." Leonardo whispered softly._

_ Raphael opened his mouth. "Leo..." He began, but his brother ignored him and Raphael had no choice but to nod and accept his brother's decision. _

_ Donatello inserted an IV into Leonardo's arm as Raphael took one last look at his older brother and silently left the room._

_ The lair was silent which meant that Katherine had managed to calm Toshiro down. Raphael hurried to Michelangelo's room where his brother lay. His skin was almost completely yellow and dry, his eyes puffy, the hands that clutched at his soft blanket were swollen. His brother's breaths were short and it was obvious that he was struggling to breathe. The stench of sickness and imminent death permeated the air. Raphael's heart clenched in fear and worry. It hit him then that Michelangelo was slowly dying right before his eyes, and even though he knew that Leonardo's life was on the line as well, he knew that they all had to do everything to help Michelangelo. Even if Leonardo lost his life, if Michelangelo's life was saved by Leonardo's sacrifice, his big brother would have no regrets about dying._

_ Raphael managed to quickly collect his bleary eyed brother and take him to Donatello's lab thankfully without running into Katherine._

_ Donatello quickly explained to Michelangelo what was going on, and his baby brother's eyes widened in horror as his eyes sought out Leonardo's."Leo, you can't..." Michelangelo protested weakly his voice barely audible, his yellowed skin looking more like dry parchment paper than turtle skin._

_ Donatello had already administered Leonardo's sedative, so he was a little groggy, but managed to reach out a shaky hand to Michelangelo. Michelangelo managed to curl his weak hand around Leonardo's fingers. "I would do anything for you Mikey." Leonardo said softly. "Because you are my brother and I love you so much. No matter what happens always remember that little brother." _

_ Michelangelo bit back a choking sob as Donatello dashed away the tears that began to flow down his own cheeks. "It's going to be okay." Donatello affirmed as Leonardo reached up with his free hand gently brushing the tears from Donatello's cheeks. _

_"I know." Leonardo said with a slight smile. "I trust you." _

_ Leonardo slipped into unconsciousness and Donatello, moving quickly, managed to get Michelangelo into the same state._

_ Raphael helped Donatello with anything he could. Donatello swiftly cut through the stitches he had just days ago sewn into Michelangelo's flesh. Raphael closed his eyes and turned his head away from the sight of his brother's side being pried open again. His heart couldn't take this sort of slow torment anymore. This poor abused organ felt as if it was going to fail as he listened to the slow beeps of Michelangelo's and Leonardo's heart monitors, the extra heart monitor supplied by Barry._

_ Raphael opened his eyes and glanced across the room towards the doorway and straight into Katherine's furious green gaze. Raphael started slightly, but she didn't say a word, and Raphael didn't try to defend any of their actions. _

_ Raphael's attention was caught when Donatello suddenly became agitated. He started mumbling something about a something aneurysm._

_ Raphael questioned his brother and found out that some stitches had let go and part of his artery was threatening to burst. Donatello explained that it was a simple fix and that Leonardo would not have to give up a kidney. All of Michelangelo's symptoms could be attributed to this as well as a slight allergic reaction to the sedative and antibiotics he was given earlier._

_ Raphael felt relief course through him and was able to smile brightly at both Michelangelo and Leonardo when they regained consciousness._

_ Leonardo woke up first and realizing that he was not in any pain he looked over at Michelangelo's motionless body. Leonardo's face crumbled with grief, tears coursing down his cheeks, believing that they had been too late to save Michelangelo's life._

_ Raphael, with tears in his own eyes explained that Michelangelo didn't need a kidney, and that Michelangelo was going to make a full recovery._

_ Leonardo's relief was palatable as was Katherine's anger. Fists clenched together she demanded an explanation from them._

_ "It was an emergency Kitten." Raphael began._

_ "Do I look stupid to you Raphael?" She asked dangerously._

_ Raphael's gaze flew to Leonardo's in desperation. "Of course not." He said wildly shaking his head in denial._

_ "It's my fault Katherine..." Leonardo began._

_ "I know it is Leonardo. Don't think that I don't know what went on in here." She said as she stalked up to Leonardo, who was still slightly groggy from his sedation."Do you really think I would say 'NO' to saving Michelangelo's life, even if it put yours in danger? Do you believe me to be as cruel and shallow as that?" She asked him, her voice shaking with emotion. "And don't answer that because I know that both of you obviously thought I might because if you didn't we wouldn't be standing here having this conversation right now." She growled._

_ "Kitten we're sorry." Raphael said regretfully._

_ Katherine took a calming deep breath and nodded. "Okay." She said easily forgiving them just as Michelangelo groaned and regained consciousness. Donatello began to softly talk to Michelangelo, Katherine by his side._

Raphael was glad that Katherine hadn't held onto her anger, easily forgiving them even though she had been hurt by their unspoken accusations. Of course if she had not forgiven him he would not be standing in an ancient graveyard, in the shadow of an ancient medieval castle, nestled in the middle of the green rolling hills of Scotland watching his fiancé walk through the cemetery arm in arm with the two women whose features were hidden under wide brimmed black hats and veils.

"No Mikey, I don't think I can handle her." Raphael replied to his brother's earlier question.

Michelangelo chuckled softly which dissolved into a harsh coughing fit. Between gasps Michelangelo said that he hadn't had enough sympathy for Leonardo when he had pneumonia.

Luckily Michelangelo had very mild pneumonia that had mostly run its course, but Michelangelo was still coughing badly.

"You should have stayed in the castle Mikey." He said gently as he helped his brother rest against a crooked tombstone.

Michelangelo smiled gamely."And miss my big brother's wedding, never!" Michelangelo managed to say hoarsely after he had finished coughing.

"We should have waited." Raphael began guiltily at his brother's present condition.

"No." Michelangelo said with a firm shake of his head. "This is perfect, it's going to be perfect Raph."

"Is it Mikey?"He asked his brother softly. Michelangelo gave an unhappy shrug. It wasn't only Michelangelo's health that had him worried about going through with the wedding. In fact most of his anxiety was centered around Leonardo and his feelings about Raphael marrying Katherine.

Raphael felt a blush begin to creep up his neck and cheeks as he remembered how he had proposed to Katherine. It was probably not the way any woman would want to be proposed to, and it was definitely not a story she could share with anyone. Ever.

It was just after Michelangelo had woken up after his first surgery when Donatello had removed his kidney and part of his liver. Michelangelo was sleeping soundly under Donatello's diligent care, Barry and Deon had gone home as had Casey, April and Shadow. Toshiro had been fed, changed and put into bed for the night and the lair felt oddly quiet and empty after everything that had happened.

They had lost part of a night and an entire day to Michelangelo's lengthy surgery. Everyone was exhausted, nerves were frayed, emotions were high, and tensions were thick. It was like a perfect storm. All Raphael had wanted to do was fall into bed, curl himself around Katherine and sleep for a week. He knew this would never happen, but he could always dream.

_ Leonardo gently closed their bedroom door after Raphael and Katherine. Katherine pulled the long, curly, silver wig from her head and let it drop to the ground. She pulled the tie from her hair letting her real shoulder length silver locks frame her face. Raphael pulled his shirt over his head, not even wanting to change but knowing he had to get out of his bloodstained clothing._

_ Leonardo also began removing his bloodied clothing, dropping them to the floor as if he wanted nothing but to be rid of the reminder that Michelangelo's blood had been spilled and that they had almost lost their baby brother the previous night._

_ Katherine peeled the black, white and grey camo body suit from her skin and Raphael caught the sight of her bloodied chest, and a bullet wound that had grazed her shoulder._

_ It felt like another lifetime ago that he had watched the woman he loved shot and killed on TV, only to be brought back to him the same moment his brother lay dying in his arms. It was too overwhelming and something in his mind just snapped._

_ He didn't know what he was doing anymore. He just reacted out of instinct. He crushed Katherine to him with an urgency that he had never felt before. It was as if there had been too much blood and death and he had a primal need to affirm that he was alive and she was alive and they were together._

_ Leonardo seemed to have the same need, the same overwhelming desire because his brother's arms went around Katherine from behind. Raphael had claimed her mouth while Leonardo had contented himself with touching every available surface of her skin and burying his face in her neck, gently kissing the soft, vulnerable area._

_ They had all fallen together onto the bed in a flurry of frantic bodies without even stopping to think about what they were doing._

_ It was at the tail end of this frenzy of activity, his blood pumping through his veins setting his body on fire, and every sense was heightened to the point where he could no longer form a rational thought that he proposed to her. _

_ Raphael knew that his proposal hadn't been ideal, and his timing was terrible, but he knew that he wanted to marry Katherine. He wanted to bind her to him even more tightly, and marrying her was the only way he could think to do this, even though he knew that marrying her would not guarantee that he would never lose her._

_ Marrying Katherine would not stop Katherine from being Katherine. And he didn't want to try to change her or tame her. Hell, he didn't even want to try to understand her, because he knew he never could. All he wanted was to at least be able to walk beside her hand in hand together because he no longer wanted to feel as though she was leaving him behind. _

_This overwhelming need had made him growl, in a voice that was barely recognizable as his own. "Choose me Katherine. Marry me," He begged huskily. "Please, please, I can't ever lose you again." He whispered frantically as all thought was wiped from his blissful brain. _

_ They had all collapsed together in a pile of sweating, panting bodies, each too exhausted to even move or speak. Raphael had closed his eyes falling into a deep sleep, never hearing if Katherine had answered him or if Leonardo had given her his own private proposal. _

_ When he woke up the next morning embarrassed memory had washed through him as he reviewed the previous night's activities._

_ He had engaged in a threesome with his older brother, and proposed to the woman he loved in the middle of it. He was mortified. Thankfully Leonardo was no longer in the bedroom when he woke up, because he did not know how he could handle looking his brother in the eye again. He avoided his older brother for most of the day and although he was waiting on pins and needles for Katherine's reply to his horribly timed proposal he avoided her as well, unable to face her if her answer was 'no'._

_ But by that evening Raphael had realized that something was wrong, or had changed with Leonardo that had nothing to do with their unplanned threesome. Or maybe it had everything to do with that and his brother was unable to deal with it. Whatever had happened he was unable to examine it too closely because that was when Michelangelo had begun to turn a sick shade of yellowish-green and Raphael's world had been thrown into horrifying turmoil all over again._

_ The next several nights Leonardo spent at Michelangelo's bedside and it wasn't until after Michelangelo's second surgery to fix the failing stitches that Raphael realized that Leonardo hadn't asked Katherine to marry him._

_ When Raphael confronted Leonardo to ask him what was going on, Leonardo said that he didn't want to marry Katherine, that he didn't want to be with her anymore and that he and Katherine had already talked. _

_ Raphael was stunned by his brother's words and he wondered if his brother had discovered that his love for Katherine wasn't as strong as it had once been. Leonardo began sleeping in the meditation room and any further discussion regarding his brother's change of heart was met with cold silence and avoidance. _

_ Raphael had of course asked Katherine what Leonardo had said and she told him that his brother had said that he couldn't be with her anymore, didn't love her and that all Leonardo wanted was for Katherine and Raphael to be happy together. Katherine's face was a blank mask, showing no emotion which meant that her emotions were in great turmoil. He tried to talk to her but she just shook her head, gently touched his cheek and whispered to him that she wanted to marry him. _

_ Katherine was obviously deeply hurt by Leonardo's change of heart, but Raphael knew that if she had wanted to be with Leonardo, Katherine wouldn't have agreed to marry Raphael._

_ So they began planning their wedding and Raphael asked Leonardo to stand beside him and be his Best Man. Leonardo had declined fiercely saying that Casey should be his best man, but Raphael insisted and Leonardo reluctantly agreed._

_ That was about as far and as much wedding planning as Raphael had done. Katherine decided to hold the wedding as soon as possible before something else exciting happened to them. Raphael didn't care as long as he was marrying Katherine, the sooner the better worked for him._

"You know it's bad luck to see your bride on your wedding day." Michelangelo observed impishly, snapping Raphael out of his reminiscent thoughts. Michelangelo slowly stood, allowing Raphael to help him stand.

"Yeah well, I'm pretty sure there ain't nothin' in the rule book about attending your bride's fake funeral in the morning and then marryin' her later that night." He pointed out.

Michelangelo grinned. "And yet somehow, it's sooo Katherine." Michelangelo observed, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

Raphael couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. It was true, it was so, so true. Nothing with Katherine was ever sane or easy, and he liked that.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" His brother asked him.

Raphael crooked an eye ridge at his brother. "I put on a monkey suit and I am ready." He said with a shrug."I can't imagine what the hell will take Kitten so long to get ready. Put on dress, do hair and make-up, and done."

"Have you seen Kitten's dress?" Michelangelo asked with a quirk of his own eye ridge.

"Of course not!" He said with a horrified shake of his head as he started helping his brother to walk towards the castle.

"Well then, you have no idea." His brother chuckled with a wide grin.

Raphael frowned in confusion for a moment. 'Wait, you've seen her dress?" Raphael asked in surprise.

Michelangelo's grin widened. "Well I am her Maid of Honour."

"What!" Raphael said pulling them both to a stop.

Michelangelo lifted an eye ridge in surprise. "Well sort of." Michelangelo said with a shrug. "Raph do you even know who your groomsmen are?"

Raphael felt a blush crawl up his cheeks. "Everything has happened so fast Mikey. I didn't think you could plan a wedding in less than two months and I didn't realize that there were going to be as many people here as there are! I have to meet Katherine's stepfather, stepbrothers, her uncle and his wife. Not to mention the fact that the caterers think that we are all dressed up in costumes so they don't freak out when they see the wedding party and guests...Mikey this is just so wrong!"

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to marry her Raph, so suck it up." Michelangelo said with a grin as he pulled Raphael forward to get him moving again.

"Who _are_ my groomsmen?" He asked curiously.

"Donny, Deon and Casey. Leo is your best man of course." Michelangelo said as he shook his head. "Wow, way to know what's going on Raphie."

"Shut up Mikey." He grumbled in irritation and guilt. He had left the planning of the wedding to fall completely into Katherine's hands because he hadn't really known what to do, Katherine hadn't asked for his help, and he had been too busy tending to Michelangelo.

"She knows Raph." Michelangelo said with a gentle smile.

Raphael sighed. "Yeah I know."

"You're a lucky guy." Michelangelo said wistfully.

"Yeah, I know." He said softly as the image of Leonardo's cold, emotionless, yet somehow emotionally shattered face flashed momentarily through his mind. He pushed the image away as another thought struck him. "Hey wait, if you are Kitten's Maid of Honour, who are her bridesmaids?"

Michelangelo tried not to laugh. "Sort of Maid of Honour."

"What the hell is a sort of Maid of Honour?" Raphael asked in confusion.

"Well April and I are sort of sharing the 'duties' since April and Katherine both needed help, because Katherine's other bridesmaid was Barry."

"Barry?" He said in shock but Michelangelo continued.

"But of course that meant that you had more groomsmen than she had bridesmaids, so she said she was going to add a couple of her cousins."

"Cousins?" He asked as he thought back to the two women standing beside Katherine at her grave.

"Yeah, so can we hurry this up? I need to go meet them and help Kitten into her dress." Michelangelo said with a lascivious smile.

"Mikey don't you dare." He growled.

"Sorry bro, duty calls." Michelangelo said with a chuckle as he slipped from Raphael's grip and walked through the castle's back door entrance.

Raphael glared at his brother following closely behind him even though he had several hours to kill until the wedding.

* * *

><p><strong>Katherine<strong> sat looking down in shock at the tiny electronic letters. "You have got to be kidding me." She grumbled as she threw the device in the garbage.

She rubbed her hands down her face in frustration. It was her wedding day, one of the supposed 'happiest days of her life' and all she could think about was Leonardo's face when he told her that he couldn't be with her anymore.

She had felt like she had been punched in the stomach, the air knocked from her lungs leaving her breathless. But outwardly she had not revealed her inner turmoil and instead calmly studied Leonardo's face, reading all of the little tells and signals that he was unable to hide and finally _understood_. And even though her heart broke, she had walked away. Because he had wanted her to.

She had squashed down her hurt and misery and buried it beneath a wall of raging anger that still boiled within her. She fought her anger controlling it, because today was supposed to be about her marrying the man she loved, not thinking about a former love, lover and father of her child.

Her two cousins Ivy and Holly entered her room in their emerald green, gold and white bridesmaid dresses.

Katherine smiled up at her cousins, pushing away the dark, intrusive thoughts.

She had always been close with her slightly older cousins but had drifted apart in recent years. With the help of her mother she had managed to separate her cousins from the rest of the mourners and tell them that she wasn't dead. Most of her extended family believed that she was dead, only a few knew that she was still alive and all of those who did know had been invited to the small, intimate wedding. She had then asked her cousin's to be bridesmaids, and after getting over the shock of finding out that she was still alive they had agreed. The only problem now would be telling them who and what she was marrying.

"Kit, these dresses are amazing." The older Ivy said with a grin. Ivy and Holly were identical twin sisters on her father's side. At the moment Ivy was sporting dark purple hair, while her younger sister Holly's dyed pink hair was pulled up in their customary pigtails.

"But how did you get them on such short notice?" Holly asked.

"Well I planned for you two to be my bridesmaids, I just couldn't ask you until today." Katherine said with a smile as she stood. "Now I need you two to help me get into my dress and cross your fingers that it actually still fits." Katherine grumbled as an afterthought.

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> looked up at the moon that shone brightly overhead. The ties of his mask ruffled gently in the wind as he felt the clawing misery that he and been holding back, momentarily spill over and almost consume him.

"Come on Leo, you're gonna be late." Michelangelo's voice said from behind him.

Leonardo started, wiping the misery from his face and replacing it with a forced smile that made his face feel like it was about to break.

He turned quickly and looked at his baby brother his fake smile turning into genuine concern for his baby brother when he looked at him. "Are you sure you are up to this Mikey?" Leonardo asked in concern as his eyes shifted to Donatello who stood behind Michelangelo looking for confirmation of Michelangelo's health from the family medic.

Michelangelo chuckled which dissolved into a bone wracking cough. Raphael opened the door to the bedroom as Leonardo and Donatello helped Michelangelo from the balcony as he continued with his coughing fit.

"We ain't doin this. I'm telling Kitten that we are canceling." Raphael's gruff voice was full of worry as he turned to leave the room.

"Don't...don't...y-you dare." Michelangelo managed to gasp out between ragged coughs that Leonardo knew felt like rusty razors trying to slice delicate lungs.

Raphael paused and turned back searching Michelangelo's face for confirmation. Leonardo began rubbing soft, comforting circles over Michelangelo's carapace, secretly hoping that Michelangelo would ask for the wedding to be cancelled, but knowing that it would only prolong Leonardo's inevitable misery even further.

Donatello had run to his room and run back giving Michelangelo an inhaler to calm his lungs and stop the grating coughing.

"I thought you were supposed to be with the girls Mikey." Raphael asked softly kneeling next to Michelangelo who was sitting on Leonardo's bed.

Michelangelo finally answered as he regained his breath. "I was for a while, but April kicked me out when it was time to get Kitten into her dress. She said I had to make sure you three made it to the altar on time."

Leonardo avoided looking at Raphael and just nodded to Michelangelo. "I'll be there in a moment. I just need to get finished getting ready." Leonardo lied as he finally met Raphael's eyes and gave his brother what he hoped was a reassuring smile as Raphael helped Michelangelo slowly to his feet.

"Okay. Come on Mikey." Raphael said softly as they made their way down the massive stone staircase.

Leonardo watched Donatello follow Michelangelo and Raphael out and walked back outside to stand on the balcony.

The Bridesmaids and groomsmen would already be assembled when Katherine would walk through the sweeping grey stones to the podium that had been set up in the cemetery.

Balmoral castle had wooded grounds and beautifully manicured lawns, but Katherine had decided she wanted to get married in the cemetery where her empty casket had just been buried. It was where her father and brother were buried and she felt that she wanted them to be there even though she knew they couldn't be, and she wanted to start her new life where her old one left off. Leonardo understood it to a certain extent.

Leonardo closed his eyes and shook his head trying to remove any thoughts of Katherine from his mind. He straightened the lapels of his black suit, adjusted his dark blue tie and made his way down the massive staircase. He walked to the door and placed his hand on the door handle, but was unable to make himself open it. Tears stung his eyes as he realized that he couldn't do it. He couldn't watch his brother marry the woman he loved and smile throughout the entire ceremony.

Leonardo pulled his hand away from the handle and turned. He knew that somewhere in the castle Katherine was getting ready to marry his brother. His damn heart screamed out in abject misery at this thought. An all consuming need to stop the wedding surged through him like an unstoppable, violent wave. Leonardo looked down the stone hallway before him and ran down the narrow winding passage.

* * *

><p><strong>bum bum buuummmm...<strong>

**LOL thoughts and opinions are always welcomed and encouraged!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Thank you as always to my beta reader Amonraphoenix for beta reading this chapter and for giving me such great ideas and suggestions! She always makes my work so much better!:)**

**Also a big thank you to my reviewers Diana Fay, dondena, I love kittens too, chibiwolf33, pludoh, mela989898 and As The Rush Comes.**

****Alrighty all so this is it the final chapter of Vicissitude.:) and Amonraphoenix and I have been kicking around some ideas for a sequel to this fic, and we would like to do one, but only if somebody will actually read it. So if you would like a sequel to this fic please say so, otherwise I will just write an epilogue.:) (the sequel will be about 15 years in the future)****

**And without further ado...Please enjoy:)**

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><p><span>Chapter 32<span>

**Raphael** and his two brothers met up with Casey and Deon who were dressed as Donatello was, in a black suit, black vest, and emerald green and gold ties. Raphael was dressed in the same suit, his crimson tie standing out brilliantly against the black shirt and vest.

The night air was crisp and cool, the path to the cemetery was lit with several torches that flickered in the soft breeze. Raphael felt as if he were going to attend some sort of pagan ritual or a secret ceremony instead of his own wedding.

He walked between the rows of chairs that had been set up for the special occasion. Many of the friends they had met over the years were assembled and sitting, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the bride; Leatherhead, the members of the Justice Force, professor Honeycutt, Usagi, Traximus and many others graced the wedding with their presence.

Katherine's family sat on the other side curiously examining the guests on the groom's side. Thankfully Katherine's immediate family seemed to be handling the groom's guests better than Raphael would have thought.

In the front row, sitting in Katherine's mother's lap was Toshiro, dressed in a dark blue tux. Sitting beside her was Katherine's stepfather who held Shadow who was squirming in delight, and was dressed in a dark blue dress. Katherine's stepbrothers and newly acquired aunt sat in the next row.

Raphael had always thought of himself and his brothers as being alone, but looking over the assembled crowd, he realized that they weren't.

Raphael took up his place in front of the podium as did his brothers and Deon, a man he now thought of as a friend.

He gave a quick glance to Katherine's uncle who was going to perform the ceremony. He had only briefly talked with the gentleman, but found that the man was intelligent, witty and full of life. And though he was curious about Raphael and his brothers he had found that Carin Wraith seemed to be enjoying the idea of his niece marry a mutant turtle immensely. Raphael looked around searching for Leonardo who had said that he would be right down, but who still hadn't shown up. He looked at Casey who looked at his watch anxiously.

"Five minutes bro, where the hell is Leo." Casey whispered to him worriedly.

Raphael's golden eyes narrowed in fury. His eyes flew to Michelangelo who was standing at the end of the aisle helping late comers to find their seats. He caught Michelangelo's eyes and his brother shook his head indicating that he couldn't see Leonardo anywhere either.

Raphael waited for his older brother to walk down the aisle and stand by his side, but as the soft strains of music began to softly play from discreetly hidden speakers, Raphael realized that Leonardo wasn't coming.

Rage boiled through him, but he tried to stamp down his anger as he motioned for Michelangelo to stand beside him instead and act as Best Man. Raphael wondered for a moment why Michelangelo hadn't been acting as one of his groomsmen when he caught the look of exhaustion and strain on Michelangelo's face before his brother quickly hid these feelings and gave a him worried, but determined smile. Raphael's anger was replaced with concern and worry for his baby brother. Raphael realized then that Katherine had probably made Michelangelo an honorary Maid of Honour so that he wouldn't be forced to stand throughout the entire ceremony and instead would be included in the bridal party, but able to sit in the front pew and not strain himself.

Donatello strode forward helping Michelangelo make his way up the aisle. Michelangelo stood beside him with a tired look on his face as Donatello continued to help support his baby brother until he recovered himself a little. Deon, standing beside Donatello, had slightly concerned look on his face.

Everyone who was seated suddenly turned in their seats as the music changed, announcing the start of the wedding. Everyone strained to get a better look at the bridesmaids as they made their way down the center aisle. April was first as she walked arm in arm with Barry. Next, two strikingly beautiful young women who Raphael didn't know followed them, their eyes wide with shock and curiosity as they took in his brother's appearance as well as that of their guests.

Raphael wasn't sure how much Katherine had told her cousins, but it was enough that they didn't scream or bolt, which would have been awkward. They quietly took up their positions to mirror the groomsmen.

The music changed again and all eyes turned in anticipation of the bride. The torches cast a shaky orange glow lighting up the darkness of the graveyard, but the end of the aisle remained empty. Raphael looked at April who gave a shrug, indicating that as far as she was aware Katherine was ready to walk down the aisle.

The crowd began to look around in confusion and whisper amongst themselves as Raphael looked at Michelangelo whose face was filled with bleak understanding.

Raphael closed his eyes his head lowering when he realized that he was a fool to think that Katherine would ever choose him over Leonardo. With Leonardo missing and his prospective bride missing, he could only come to the heartbreaking conclusion that Leonardo and Katherine were most likely together and that neither one was coming to the wedding. _They are probably going to elope somehow_. He thought to himself bitterly.

Betrayal and heartbreak tore through him, shredding his heart to ribbons and leaving nothing but uncontrollable rage and anguish in its wake.

There was a gasp from the crowd and Raphael's golden eyes flew open, his head snapping up automatically, his eyes searching the darkness beyond the end of the aisle.

Katherine stepped alone, into the light at the end of the aisle, resplendent in a midnight blue gown with silver trim and silver under skirt straight out of a medieval fairytale. Her silver curls were swept up leaving a few strands to drape around her face softening the look. Two large, elegant silver fairy wings projected from her back, catching the moonlight just right. Behind her the Castle that rose up in the background made Raphael believe in something more, something like magic or fate that had allowed him to find the one woman he would love for a lifetime, and who, for reasons he could never understand, was able to love him back.

And even though disappointment and anger still burned hotly through him at his brother's traitorous desertion, Raphael felt tears prick his eyes in relief at the sight of the beautiful woman who stood looking at him with a love that was blinding in its intensity. Katherine took two steps towards him and froze.

Katherine's eyes scanned the assembled guests and bridal party, ending with Michelangelo. The smile vanished from her face as her eyes darted to Raphael's in question.

Raphael gave a faint growl and slight movement of his head indicating that he didn't know where Leonardo was and he didn't care. He would deal with his big brother later.

Katherine's head tipped forward, almost as if she was looking at her feet, causing her face to fall into shadow. Raphael was unable to tell what emotions she was feeling, but her head rose and she dashed tears from her eyes as she looked into Raphael's eyes.

For a moment Raphael thought she was going to bolt the other way, but instead she ran towards him flinging herself into his surprised arms. She clung to him her face buried in his neck as he closed his eyes and buried his face in her neck, breathing in the soft flowery scent that was uniquely her.

"Raphael." She whispered to him ignoring the shuffling and whispering at her unconventional dash up the aisle.

Raphael pulled away and looked into Katherine's tear filled eyes. "I know." He whispered as he brushed a stray tear from her cheek.

* * *

><p><strong>Leonardo<strong> looked at the moon as it reflected against the surface of the small loch. He lightly massaged his bad leg, having strained it in his mad dash through the castle and out another side door that opened up towards the massive woodland that surrounded the castle. He still walked with a limp and knew that it would still take several years before this condition vanished altogether, but it still irritated him. That and his leg had begun to ache as the weather slowly got colder.

He sighed miserably.

Suddenly the soft strains of the bridal music reached his ears. He had hoped that he would be far enough away that the music would not carry, but the hush of the fall evening carried the plaintive sound easily through the chilly air.

Leonardo closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath before opening them again. He knew that Raphael was going to be furious with him, his other brothers would be confused and worried and Katherine would be hurt. But he believed that they would all get over him missing the wedding. After all, it was for the best of everybody involved.

The bridal march began, soft at first but gaining in volume. Leonardo squeezed his eyes shut again in heartbreaking pain and wondered briefly what Katherine looked like in her wedding dress; the need to see her almost overwhelming him.

But he forced himself to stay where he was. The last thing he needed was to crash the wedding and beg Katherine not to marry his younger brother. In fact that urge had been so strong that it was for this reason that he had decided that it would be best for everyone if he didn't attend at all.

He had finally understood that it was Raphael who loved Katherine the most and that Leonardo's love paled in comparison to his brother's. He had thought that after he had made this discovery letting Katherine go would be easy, but had found that no matter how much he tried to tell himself that he didn't really love her, his heart wouldn't seem to listen.

Sometime during this painful reverie the music had stopped and been replaced by the laughter and cheerful talking of his friends and family. Leonardo realized that the wedding was over. Katherine was now married to his brother and out of his reach forever. Tears of misery unexpectedly came to his eyes at this painful thought, but he refused to let them fall.

He turned intending to go to the reception when a very subtle noise coming from the bush to his left alerted him to the fact that he was no longer alone.

Leonardo tensed and started to move into a defensive position, his hands automatically reaching for his swords when he remembered he wasn't wearing them. He cursed and braced himself for an attack just as a squirrel darted from the brush and up a tree. Leonardo relaxed and mentally chastised himself for being so paranoid.

The brutal attack came before Leonardo was even able to fully process what was happening.

A fist hit his jaw like a sledgehammer, sending him sprawling to land close to the gently rolling waves of the loch.

"You, selfish, BASTARD!" Raphael roared in fury as he emerged from the shadows that had hidden him. Raphael pulled off his jacket and tossed it to the ground as he advanced towards Leonardo who stood up, looking at his younger brother in stunned confusion as he gently touched his throbbing jaw.

"Raph?" He asked stupidly wondering what his brother was doing here instead of celebrating his wedding. Raphael's anger was expected, but not his immediate presence.

Raphael advanced on him before spinning and kicking him hard in the plastron, winding him and causing him to stumble backwards. He tripped and fell into the frigid, shallow water.

Raphael charged at him again then pushing Leonardo further backwards into the dark water. In a quick move Raphael grabbed Leonardo's throat and slammed his head underwater. The freezing water covered his face and he struggled against Raphael's iron grip which continued to hold his head underwater.

Raphael kept his grip on Leonardo's throat, but finally pulled him out enough that Leonardo took a deep, gasping gulp of air. "What the hell, Leo!" Raphael shouted into his face before he adjusted his grip and punched him in the face again. Leonardo struggled to get his brother to let go of the front of his now soaking clothing.

"Raph I..." He began as Raphael pushed his head underwater again, cutting off any reply he was going to make with a gurgle.

Raphael pulled him back out after a few moments and Leonardo sputtered and tried to shake the water from his face and eyes.

"Why'd you do it, huh Leo?" Raphael hissed as his grip tightened on Leonardo's jacket, giving him a hard shake. "Why'd you ditch out on my wedding? You were supposed to be my Best Man and you didn't even have the balls to show!" Raphael's voice held all of his rage, but under that rage was a whole lot of hurt and pain.

"Raph..." Leonardo began his voice rough, his eyes shifting away guiltily.

"Don't you dare lie to me Leo!" Raphael snapped as his brother's beak nearly touched his own, Raphael's hot breath washing over him.

"You love her, I don't. You never should never have picked me as your Best Man." Leonardo snapped back at his brother whose eyes widened in shock.

"You don't love her?" Raphael questioned in surprise, his voice laced with suspicion.

"No." Leonardo affirmed in a cold steady voice.

Raphael's eyes searched his face before his eyes narrowed in renewed fury. "Don't lie to me!" He shouted as he slammed Leonardo's head back into the water, pulling him out only to slam him back in a moment later. He struggled against Raphael's grip but for some reason it was like his brother's grip was made of iron, and he was unable to break it.

Raphael pulled him out again. "Admit it! You still love her!" Raphael shouted at him before plunging him back into the shallows. He took in a lungful of air and began coughing up water as Raphael pulled him out.

Leonardo shook his head weakly in denial as the water trickled from between his lips.

"If you didn't still love her, you would have come." Raphael accused.

"No." Leonardo weakly managed to choke out between ragged gasps of air.

This answer infuriated his brother even more as he shoved him under once again.

Leonardo wondered to himself if Raphael was in enough of a murderous rage to accidentally kill him.

"Admit that you love her." Raphael bellowed as he pulled him out before dunking him back in when Leonardo refused to acknowledge his accusation.

Raphael pulled him up and pulled back his hand punching him in the stomach, knocking some of the air from his lungs before plunging him back in into the icy water. Leonardo struggled in earnest now as his lungs screamed for air. He couldn't take it anymore as he screamed underwater in frustration. The precious little air in his lungs streaming out of his body as he automatically took in a breath. He felt his world go black around the edges. He realized that something must have gone wrong at the wedding. It was possible that Katherine had left Raphael standing at the altar when she had realized that Leonardo had lied to her.

Leonardo felt his body go limp as he slowly stopped struggling. Darkness consumed him and he wondered if he was dying, and regretted that he hadn't told Katherine the truth, because then she would have understood why he couldn't be with her.

This was his last thought before gentle oblivion devoured him whole.

(*******************)

Water was harshly expelled from his lungs in a rush as someone pounded hard on his carapace; hard enough that another forceful stream of water was ejected from his aching lungs.

Leonardo realized he was laying on his plastron on the pebble beach. Raphael must have hauled him from the water dragging him up onto the rocky beach, and pounding him on the back relentlessly as he struggled to get the water from his lungs and take a proper breath.

"Jeez Leo, you really think I'd drown you?" Raphael growled softly as he continued to thump his brother's carapace.

"You...nearly... did!" Leonardo snarled back as he tried to take a breath right.

"That's because you were stupid enough to take a breath! You're a turtle, you can hold your breath for a hell of a lot longer than you did!" Raphael said in angry exasperation stopping his actions and moving slightly away from his brother. "Now stop lying to me and tell me the damn truth! Or do I have to drag your sorry ass back into the lake?"

"I love her!" He managed to gasp out angrily as Raphael studied him coldly, unconcerned with having nearly drown his older brother in a foot of water. "I lover her! Is that what you want to hear?" He asked glaring at his younger brother as he took another deep, gasping breath of air.

"It's a start." Raphael barked as he glared at Leonardo.

"What do you want from me, Raph?" He asked as he took a deep, shuddering breath, his shoulder's sagging in dejected defeat.

"Why'd you lie?" Raphael asked him crouching in front of Leonardo who remained seated on the rocky sand.

Leonardo turned his head away from his brother's inquiring gaze.

"I see." Raphael growled. "You thought Kitten would pick you, so you decided to do the honourable thing and step back, is that it? Well I don't need your pity." Raphael's voice had become dangerous and low his amber eyes glowing with barely suppressed fury.

Leonardo's surprised gaze met Raphael's. "No." He said in denial shaking his head.

"Then you wanna tell me why my big brother missed and ruined my wedding?" Raphael ground out through clenched teeth.

"Ruined?" Leonardo asked in horror as he felt himself pale at the implications of the word.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to have your bride crying on your shoulder, not because she is so damn happy, but because your big brother is a total and complete ass who lied to her about his true feelings?" Raphael asked, his voice more a growl than actual words.

Leonardo closed his eyes in regret but found his own anger beginning to bubble to the surface. "I never lied!" He shouted at his brother. Raphael's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "I never lied." He reaffirmed firmly as Raphael continued to look at him with derision. "I love her but not like you love her." He said bitterly.

Raphael blinked in confusion. "What're ya talking about Leo?" Raphael's confusion turned to irritation. Raphael opened his mouth to say something else, no doubt a biting insult, but Leonardo cut him off.

"You love her, just as she is." Leonardo said his voice lowering wistfully.

Raphael's beak snapped shut as he looked at Leonardo in confusion. Leonardo let out an irritated puff of air. "I hate the way she makes me feel." He grumbled lowly. "I want her to change. I want her to let me protect _her_...just once, but I will never be _that _for her. She's always going to feel like she needs to protect _me_ and that's not right." He said with an angry shake of his head. "She will always throw herself into danger and I can't take that, my heart can't take that, but you can. You are fine with the fact that Katherine, Barry and Deon are employed at Barry's father's company. They have been contracted by the government to keep the peace in New York City by spreading and exacerbating the rumours that Katherine's ghost roams the streets taking down any who engage in criminal activity! They are calling her the Wraith and I hate it! I hate it with every fiber of my being that she constantly puts herself in danger! But you accepted this and let her do it!"

"Leo..." Raphael began but Leonardo wasn't finished.

"I heard the need in your voice Raph, when you asked Katherine to marry you. I heard that heart wrenching plea that begged her never to leave you again. And it hit me then that I could never love her like you do, because you love her just the way she is, while I would spend a lifetime worrying, fretting and begging her to change. Because I can never seem to be able to protect her! Every single time she needed me I either wasn't there or helpless to do anything to help her. Raph if she wasn't so damn smart and lucky she would have been dead several times over and I can't sit and wait for the day when she isn't smart enough, or quick enough or lucky enough..."

"Leo..." Raphael tried again but Leonardo continued talking over his brother.

"I was always trying to catch up to her, to be able to walk beside her, but she left me behind and so did you. You understand her and I never will..."

Raphael lunged forward and punched Leonardo in the jaw. "God, do you ever stop talking!" Raphael roared as he shook out his fist, red with blood, some of it Leonardo's most of it Raphael's own having cut his fist on Leonardo's teeth.

Leonardo looked into his brother's angry eyes in shock and surprise.

"I don't even know where to start with you." Raphael growled angrily, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "You love her just as much as I do because I have seen the way you look at her!" Raphael yelled angrily, jabbing a finger into Leonardo's plastron. "You think I _like_ the fact the Katherine goes out and runs around with Barry and Deon trying to keep all of the scumbags of New York in check, including Karai?" Raphael asked incredulous. "HELL NO! If I could I'd chain her to the lair so she could never leave again and so that I knew that she was safe. But..." Raphael closed his eyes and sat down in the wet sand looking at his brother with pain filled eyes. "It isn't always about me or even you, sometimes it's about her."

Leonardo closed his eyes. "I know." He whispered.

"No, you don't know!" Raphael barked angrily. "Because if you did know you wouldn't have been such a selfish bastard and turned this whole thing into bein' about _you_. There is only enough room in this family for one selfish bastard and that's me, so just stick to your whole pity party, honour bound shit and leave the selfishness to me."

Leonardo looked at Raphael in mute shock.

Raphael rubbed an irritated hand down his face. "And everyone thinks that I'm the dumb one." Raphael grumbled, running a tired hand down his face. "Come on smart guy, why did Kitten fake her own death?" Raphael asked him in a semi-calm tone tinged with mockery.

"Because she wanted to keep us safe by drawing the Face out and eliminating him." Leonardo replied with irritation.

"And?" Raphael prodded.

"And she wanted revenge." Leonardo answered simply.

"Revenge?" Raphael asked incredulous. "Since when has Kitten ever been interested in revenge?" He asked in exasperation. "Leo, did I hit you too many times, hold you underwater for too long? Because I swear I will hit you again if I have to spell it out for you."

Leonardo blinked. "She said she could no longer live in her world." He said as his mind began furiously thinking.

"And our world is...?" Raphael prompted.

"In the shadows, full of danger and violence. Oh God she really became a part of our world." He replied in horror.

"Quote. 'How can you expect me to let you all go out into the night and fight and try to protect an entire city without knowing that someone out there who you trust has your back?' Unquote. Her very words when I told her that she was NOT going out and joining that stupid ghost squad Barry's got running."

Leonardo blinked at him owlishly in surprise.

"You think I want her running around topside just begging for someone to put an actual bullet through her. HELL NO! But I can't stop her and I would rather be by her side than let her do it alone. So I let her go because I love her, even though my heart feels like it is going to stop beating every time she leaves and doesn't start beating again until she walks back in safe and sound." Raphael shook his head. "It took me a bit to understand." Raphael began quietly. "I didn't notice it at first, Mikey did, but...Everything Katherine did was for her. It wasn't really about us, indirectly yes, but... It was all about her." Raphael said as he picked up a twig and drew a doodle of a flower into a bit of sand.

Leonardo's eyes widened in understanding. "Toshiro's room." He said as he recognized the pattern of one of the flowers that Katherine had painted on the wall in Toshiro's room. Katherine had painted a safari scene on Toshiro's walls, with giraffes, elephants, zebras, and lions roaming a multi-coloured grassland with trees flowers and birds cavorting across the walls. "She painted Toshiro's room. She painted." He said looking at his brother in shock.

"Yeah, she painted." Raphael agreed. "You noticed but you were too busy avoidin' everyone and worrying about Mikey and trying to tell yourself that you didn't love her."

"She needed to be...free. That is what she meant by free." Leonardo said slowly to himself as he realized that Katherine had to embrace the dark part of her own psyche that had risen when Mr. White had ordered her to kill Leonardo and placed a gun to a little girl's head and strapped a bomb around her neck to do it. "She was traumatized but none of us could help her, she needed to fix it her way, and she did, and she is still fixing it because she can't ever bear to have another child taken from their home and used that way ever again. It isn't just about all of us, it is about her too." Leonardo finished in stunned shock.

"There we go, give the mutant turtle a round of applause." Raphael mocked with a smirk.

Leonardo took a deep breath and closed his eyes, opening them and looking at his brother in the eyes. "Why are you here, Raph?" He asked tiredly.

"Why didn't you come?" Raphael countered.

Leonardo thought about lying but thought better of it and instead told his brother the truth instead. "Because if I went I would have begged her not to marry you." He whispered in shame.

"Damn it Leo...!" Raphael roared with renewed rage.

"How did I ruin your wedding?" Leonardo asked quickly in a soft whisper.

"I already told you," Raphael growled. "My big brother didn't show up to my wedding because he decided to be a dick." Raphael growled.

Leonardo swallowed down a ball of dread that rose up in his throat. "I didn't show up so that I wouldn't ruin your wedding." He whispered with regret.

"Well it was ruined anyway." Raphael snarled angrily.

"But how did I ruin it?" He persisted wondering again if Katherine had left Raphael at the altar.

"I already told you. You made my wife cry, for you." Raphael hissed dangerously.

Leonardo closed his eyes as he felt the blood drain from his face. He knew that his brother was marrying Katherine, but to hear him call Katherine his wife was too painful.

He couldn't breathe, the misery in his heart was suffocating him. His brother drowning him in the loch would have been a merciful, because he couldn't bear this kind of pain and still expect to live.

"Congratulations... Raph." Leonardo managed to choke out from between clenched teeth.

"Tha'd mean more if you actually meant it." Raphael said with heated irritation.

Leonardo's eyes slowly opened. "Congratulations, Raph." He said with more sincerity in his voice, and in a way he meant it, because he knew that he brother would be happy and because he knew Raphael was right. He had tried to convince himself that he didn't love Katherine as much as Raphael because it was easier than accepting the truth; which was no matter how much he wanted Katherine to change, he loved her because he knew she never would. She would never bend or cave to his will and he could never protect her because she never wanted or needed to be protected. She walked her own path which crossed all of theirs and she had decided that she wanted to walk with them, all of them, and he was a fool because he had let his own fears get in the way of telling the woman he loved the truth.

And now it was too late.

"Kitten and I are thinking of a honeymoon in Italy. Barry's got this sweet villa..." Raphael began as Leonardo managed to stand on shaky legs forcing Raphael to stand as well or be forced to crane his neck to look up to him.

"Enough, Raph." Leonardo pleaded softly.

"You ever think what was gonna happen when we got married Leo, how me and Kitten are going to go looking for our own place?" Raphael asked quietly.

Leonardo dully nodded. It was just like his dream. Raphael and Katherine were married and he would always long for what he couldn't have, but at least they he wouldn't be confronted everyday with the reality of..."Toshiro." Leonardo said with dread as his mind hit upon the repercussions of Raphael and Katherine marrying and moving away. They were going to take Toshiro with them. He was not only losing the woman he loved but his only son as well.

"Yeah I hope you don't mind, but we think it's better if Toshiro just calls you uncle Leo. It's a little less confusing..." Raphael said as Leonardo turned anguished eyes upon his brother.

"Raph..." Leonardo's voice broke in abject misery.

"Admit that you love her and you that you are not okay with me marrying her." Raphael growled suddenly as he stepped forward invading Leonardo's personal space again.

"What does it matter?" Leonardo asked listlessly. "It won't change anything."

"Admit it. Admit that you love her and want to marry her." Raphael growled persistently.

Anger blazed through him. His fist lashed out and caught his brother by surprise as he punched Raphael in the face hard enough that Raphael went down in a shocked heap. "I love her and I would marry her in a second! Okay?" He shouted at his brother who rubbed his cheek as he angrily glared up at Leonardo. "I love her with my entire being; heart, body and soul! I feel like the reason I was hatched was because I was meant to meet her, love her and be loved by her. I didn't even care that we were sharing her! It was enough for me to know that I held a place in her heart. And even though I pushed her away and lied to her and know that I lost her forever; I refuse to let you take my son too!" He roared dangerously.

"So what do you suggest we do, Leonardo?" Katherine's voice asked from over Leonardo shoulder.

Raphael gave a slight grin that told Leonardo that Katherine had been standing behind him for most of - if not all- of his tirade.

Leonardo closed his eyes in flustered shame as he turned to face Katherine. He forced himself to open his eyes as he gasped at the sight of her. She was always beautiful to him, even battered, bloody and bruised she had always had the ability to make him catch his breath. But at the moment she was beyond stunning. She looked like an ethereal being who just happened to be paused within the same moment as him, threatening to vanish at any moment as if she had never been. But she didn't vanish, instead she waited quietly for an answer to her question.

Leonardo opened his mouth but had no answer to give. Toshiro would live with Raphael and Katherine, it only made sense. Calling Leonardo 'uncle' made sense as well, but..."I can't." He shook his head miserably. He couldn't lose everything. It seemed like a fate worse than death to lose them both.

"So what do you suggest, Leonardo?" Katherine prompted again as he thought furiously trying to work out a solution and not being able to find one.

Leonardo shook his head, trying to blink back the tears of frustration and hopelessness that threatened to fall.

"Give me your mask, Leonardo." She said holding out her hand. Leonardo looked at Katherine in confusion. "Yours as well, Raphael." She said as Raphael stood, untying his mask and handing it over without asking why she wanted it.

"You want mine too Kitten?" Michelangelo's voice piped up as he emerged from the dense shadows of the surrounding forest, Toshiro held tightly in his arms. Donatello followed right on Michelangelo's heels his mask already in hand as he handed her his mask, and then took Toshiro from Michelangelo, so that Michelangelo could untie and give his mask to Katherine as well.

"Don't ask why Leo, just give her your mask." Michelangelo insisted as Leonardo numbly removed his mask and handed it to her.

Katherine held all four of their masks in her hands. "There are supposed to be thirteen colours, but I think we can manage with the four we have." She said as she held out her empty hand towards Leonardo.

Leonardo reached out his hand and clasped her warm hand in his cold, damp one. "You two are a mess." Katherine observed of Leonardo and Raphael as she gave Michelangelo all four masks. "But I suppose it wouldn't be a Scottish wedding without a fist fight." She said with a shake of her head. "Though I don't think you had to go quite so hard on him Raphael."

"Yeah well, had to make up for what's gonna happen, and the fact that he's been acting like an ass for the last two months, and he missed our wedding." Raphael grumbled with a shrug.

Michelangelo grinned broadly as he wrapped the masks around Leonardo and Katherine's clasped hands binding them together tightly. "Mikey what are you doing?" Leonardo asked as Michelangelo stepped back and admired his handiwork proudly.

"Marrying you, what does it look like?" His baby brother told him as if it was obvious what he was doing.

"W-What?" Leonardo stammered in surprise. "B-But...Katherine is already married to Raph!" He protested wondering if his brother really had married Katherine or if he had just said he had to goad a reaction out of Leonardo.

"Details, details." Michelangelo said as he carelessly waved away this fact as if it were unimportant. "Katherine do you take Leo to be your husband, and put up with all his crap for as long as you both live?" Michelangelo asked Katherine who smiled a mischievous smile.

"I do." She answered as Michelangelo turned to Leonardo who felt lost, confused, and overwhelmed; as if all of the breath was being squeezed from his lungs. His eyes desperately sought out Raphael who merely stood by, watching the whole process with his arms crossed over his chest and a slight smile on his face.

"Leo." Michelangelo said as Leonardo's attention snapped back to his baby brother. "Do you take Katherine to be your wife and realize that you are one lucky idiot who she loves for reasons we don't understand, for as long as you both live?"

"I...What?" Leonardo stammered in confusion. _I don't understand!_ He screamed in his head as he began to put this thought into words."I don..." Michelangelo cut him off.

"Close enough. I now pronounce you turtle and wife. You're married Mazel tov, or...whatever." Michelangelo said with a giant grin. "Do we break dinnerware now or step on a glass or something?" Michelangelo asked as Katherine chuckled.

"Michelangelo..." Katherine prompted.

"Oh right, forgot the best part. You may now kiss the bride, or groom since I think Leo's in shock." Michelangelo said with a huge grin as Katherine wrapped her unbound arm around Leonardo's neck and claimed his mouth in a hungry kiss that he was unable to resist. Even with his thoughts in turmoil he could not help but pull her close and devour her.

Leonardo finally managed to scrounge up enough willpower to pull away from Katherine's kiss. "This isn't real." He whispered. "I can't marry you Katherine, you're already married to Raph." He said as he tried to pull away, but his hand was still bound to hers with their masks.

"Who is technically married to a dead girl an you guys don't technically exist." Katherine pointed out. "Though my uncle was kind enough to get his lawyer ,who knows all of the lovely details of my supposed death, to give me a fake identity and make me the heir of his companies and fortune. So I suppose I am not as dead as the world would think." Katherine said as an afterthought as Leonardo blinked at her in confusion.

"Ryn Revenant, it's brilliant! Cause Ryn comes from Katherine and Revenant is another word for a ghost or Wraith." Michelangelo said with a chuckle that turned into a small coughing fit. Raphael moved to take Toshiro from Donatello's arms so that Donatello could make sure that Michelangelo was okay.

Their baby brother just waved Donatello off and eventually stopped coughing, bending over so that his hands rested on his knees as he tried to steady his breathing before straightening.

Katherine smirked as Leonardo looked at Raphael in desperation because he was pretty sure his entire family had either gone insane or had somehow managed to have way too much hard liquor and were all drunk.

"We both love her, Leo." Raphael began softly. "She loves us both and we are both Toshiro's father. If that isn't a giant message from the universe that we are both supposed to be with her I don't know what is." Raphael rubbed his neck as if what he was about to say was embarrassing. "It wasn't right. These last two months, you sleepin' in the meditation room...we ain't human Leo, why is it wrong for both of us to marry her if we want to? It ain't like it's legal..."

"And we don't file taxes either." Michelangelo put in helpfully.

Raphael glared at Michelangelo who smiled back innocently as Raphael continued. "I love her, you love her and we both want to marry her, so now we both did." Raphael stated firmly as Leonardo looked down at his hand bound to Katherine's.

Leonardo felt tears prick his eyes as Katherine's cousins burst from the darkened woods. "Where have you guys been?" The one on the right said her pink hair pulled up into pigtails that were at odds with her elegant dress.

"We've been looking for you everywhere." The twin to the left said, her purple hair swept up and elegantly piled on her head with one curl that trailed down her back and over her shoulder. Both women were stunning, but Leonardo had to admit that he only had eyes for Katherine.

"Ooo a hand-fasting. Why didn't you just do that at your wedding instead of having uncle Carin...wait...dark blue tie, you aren't Raph." The one with the pink hair said to Leonardo.

Leonardo blushed as the one with the purple hair nodded at her sister's observation. "No fair Kit!" The one with the pink hair protested as Raphael began unfastening their hands, pulling the masks loose and giving each to their respective owners. "When you said you were marrying a mutant turtle I didn't think they would be so cute!" She said as she put her arm through Michelangelo's. "I mean...they are really hot! How come you are marrying two of them?" She pouted.

The one with the purple hair spoke up then. "Wouldn't you?" She asked. "

"Good point." The woman with the pink hair conceded with a bright grin. "I'd take two if I got the chance." She admitted.

"Look Leo, twins." Michelangelo said with a lascivious grin."Meet, Holly." He pointed to the woman with the pink hair." And Ivy." He said pointing to the woman with the purple hair.

Ivy slid her arm through Donatello's giving the tails of his mask a playful tug. "My favourite colour is purple." She said with a distinctive purr in her voice that made Donatello blush darkly.

"You all disappeared suddenly and I wanted to get to know you all better." Holly said flirtatiously as she slid her arm though Donatello's free one.

"Kit I can't believe you hid them from us, and you have a kid! Toshiro is sooo cute!" Holly squealed with delight as she all but bounced over to Raphael and admiring Toshiro. Ivy pulled away from Donatello and admired Toshiro as well, both twins talking a mile a minute in excitement. "Can I hold him?" Ivy asked Raphael who looked at Ivy in surprise as he shot a quick glance at Katherine who nodded.

Raphael reluctantly handed Toshiro to Ivy who cooed at him and began walking towards the sounds of revelry happening in the distance.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Holly asked as she paused turning to look back at them. "The party is this way and I don't want to miss uncle Carin trying to drink that big huge alligator under the table."

Katherine groaned. "Please tell me that uncle Carin hasn't gotten into the tequila yet."

"He was on his second shot when we left," Holly began. "But don't worry, it's been a while since everyone has heard the story about how he discovered the lost city of Iram and lost it again." She said with a chuckle as she quickly snagged Donatello and Michelangelo and pulled them along back towards the reception.

Katherine, Leonardo and Raphael all hung back. "I'm sorry Katherine." Leonardo apologized to her.

Katherine glanced at him seriously. "I wondered if you were going to stop the wedding...I hoped that you would." She began softly, "But I knew that you wouldn't. I could have let you go if that was what you wanted, but I couldn't let you go if you didn't want me to."

Leonardo looked at her in stunned silence before turning his attention to his brother. "Raph...?" Leonardo questioned, wondering why his brother had agreed to having him marry Katherine as well.

Raphael narrowed his eyes at Leonardo and let out a huff of air pulling Katherine in close. "Kitten knew you had lied about not wanting to be with her, but was content to leave you be if that was what you wanted. If you wanted to lie to yourself she wasn't going to try to talk you out of it. She seemed to understand what was goin' on in your head. But when you didn't show she realized that you had admitted to yourself on some level that you were not happy."

"Raphael, missed you." Katherine teased with an impish smile.

"I did not." Raphael growled softly with petulant denial. "I just got tired of seein' Leo's moping mug all over the place." He grumbled. "And I couldn't stand the look of heartache in your eyes Kitten." Raphael muttered as he tipped Katherine's chin up to claim her mouth in a searing kiss.

Raphael finally pulled away, a hungry look on his face that promised that their presence at the reception was going to be very short lived. "We've shared her for so damn long it feels wrong not sharin' her, okay? Now just drop it." Raphael rumbled deeply as Katherine chuckled lightly.

Katherine pulled Leonardo's arm through her own and put her other arm through Raphael's as she began to lead them towards the wedding reception.

"How do you think your mom is going to take the news that you married both of us?" Leonardo asked curiously.

"Well I don't think she would be all that surprised and if she is upset about it in any way I will just distract her by telling her that she is going to be a grandmother again." Katherine informed him with a casual shrug.

Leonardo felt his feet root to the spot in shock."W-What?" He and Raphael asked in unison.

"I wonder if Holly and Ivy would like to babysit sometime?" Katherine asked, almost to herself as she continued to walk on ahead without them.

"Katherine!" Leonardo said at the same moment Raphael shouted "Kitten!"

"I'm pregnant." She said with a brilliant smile as Leonardo turned and looked at Raphael in stunned disbelief.

"W-wait! How did that happen!" Raphael asked in shock. "We always used protection after we found out we could get you pregnant!" He protested.

Leonardo met Katherine's eyes as she looked back and forth between Raphael and Leonardo. "Well," She began, "There was one wild night I remember a little over two months ago when we didn't." She pointed out reasonably including Leonardo in her accusation.

Leonardo's cheeks turned dark with embarrassment as he remembered the night she was referring to. He shared a glance with Raphael whose own cheeks were dark with embarrassment as well.

"Wait!" Raphael protested. "You mean we don't know which one of us is the father, _again_?" Raphael asked as Katherine gave a quick nod.

Raphael and Leonardo stared at Katherine in dumbfounded shock as Leonardo shared a look with Raphael.

"Soooo tonight is going to be...fun." Katherine said with a flirtatious wink as she turned and darted ahead leaving Raphael to run after her, shouting questions at her retreating back. Her joyous laughter echoed through the night as Leonardo felt a smile of delight spread across his face. Leonardo ran after his pregnant wife, a slight limp to his gait. His wife...who also happened to be married to his brother, which sounded strange in his head, but somehow, felt right.

* * *

><p><strong>Alrighty all, like I said before if you want a sequel please tell me:) <strong>

**I hope everyone really enjoyed this fic! Reviews are highly encouraged! **


	33. Author's note

**A/N:**

Just a quick update:)

Since all who reviewed were in favour of a sequel, I am totally going to do one (very excited, so this story is officially finished:)

The sequel is called _**Legacy**_ and I have posted the first chapter:)

So thank you everyone for reading this fic and thank you to everyone who reviewed, you guys are awesome!

Also, thank you again to Amonraphoenix for letting me bounce ideas off of her, her awesome dark ideas and suggestions, her insane amount of knowledge in EVERYTHING, and her awesome editing skills. You totally rock!


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